When Fates Collide
by Fallen Vanguard
Summary: The winds of change blow across the cold region of Sinnoh. When a revelation of a grim future is revealed to all tensions quickly begin to rise. The fates of four Pokemon in particular are altered and set to a connecting path, a path that forks to one of two choices. They can either be victims of their new fates...or fight for a brighter future.
1. Act 0: Premonitions

If you ever had the chance to ask the ancients of their thoughts, they would tell you that the night was the safest time of the day. After all, day time was spent worshipping and fearing the sun. Especially in places like Johto and Hoenn, who had sun related gods and all. Funny how things would change. Now you would have kits trembling in the night, claiming to have terrors in their minds and sense evil presences about.

Of course, as people grew up, these night terrors had a curious tendency to fade away. As such their attention would ever return to the sun and keeping it's various gods happy. Only kits were sensitive to the long night, or the moonless night, when true evil was said to plague the land and the influence of Darkrai itself could be felt.

Heh, the long night. Sinnoh was such an odd place, especially when it came to it's myths and histories. I myself had always thought-

"AH!"

"Huh? Wha?" I practically scrambled to my feet, snapping out of my thoughts in a mere instant. The scream came from a small fox den a few feet from where I had been stargazing. I cursed under my breath and walked over to the den's opening, sticking my head inside.

"Hey, lad, you okay? What's the matter?" I asked, still a bit shaken up myself. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the small den and I could make out the form of a curled up Pokemon. His white fur certainly helped, but his face was so black the only his red eyes could be made out, and they were open quite wide. He didn't respond to me at first, just looked at me and panted, his small frame trembling in fear.

I made eye-contact with the young Absol and took a calming breath. It wouldn't do any good for me to be all riled up too. If I could stay calm then I could show the lad that there was nothing to fear, and he would calm down too. So I shot him a small smile and backed up a bit from the fox den.

"It's all right lad, you're here now," I started softly. I couldn't see him anymore but I could imagine that he nodded in response. I gave him a few more seconds to recover from his shock and spoke again, "You had another one, didn't you?"

"...Not another one," His young voice said back, quiet like a whisper.

I quirked my eyebrow curiously, "The same one, then?"

Silence, which meant another invisible nod. I let out a sigh and stepped back further from the fox den to give him some space. "Come out then, Celsius,"

After a few seconds the young Absol crawled out of the fox den and looked at me. He seemed a bit less shaken up, as his body no longer trembled, but his eyes were still rather wide. This young Absol, Celsius, was a bit of a prodigy. All Absol were famous throughout history to be present during disasters. This was for various reasons, but primarily because they can sense large scale events before they occurred. Now I was no Absol myself, so I had no idea how this ability usually worked, but Celsius seemed to have a much stronger version of that ability.

He'd see the disasters in dreams as well.

I smiled reassuringly at Celsius and gave his head a pat, careful not to skewer my paw on his horn. Couldn't have that now, could I? After all it was the only paw I had.

"I need you to tell me what it was that you saw, no matter how scary," I said to him soothingly. Celsius nodded up at me before looking down at the grass, quietly collecting his thoughts.

"I saw two crowns, hovering above a bloody forest, same as before," He started. I grunted to show my acknowledgement, so the lad continued, "One was finally victorious and the blood got cleaned up, but that's when the fire came. There was...just so much of it..."

That was the only issue with the lad's premonitions. I was convinced that, while most Absol could only sense large scale disasters, Celsius was privvy to even smaller ones with his dream visions, but they were prophetic in nature. One had to decipher their meanings in order to find out what was truly going to happen. It was like hearing the whispers of the ancients when he spoke.

So two crowns in a forest of blood...sounds simple enough. Celsius had this same dream a few nights prior and I determined where this event was going to transpire, so we had been en route since then. As for the fire, well, that could mean just about anything. We'd have to keep our eyes open for a fire type it seemed.

Celsius had calmed down completely now, his expression a far more relaxed one than before. His eyes were half-lidded, showing how tired he was, but he focused his gaze on me. I chuckled and flicked his nose lightly with a claw, prompting the young one to wrinkle his nose in protest.

"All right. We should be arriving at Eterna tomorrow. Certainly we'll find the source of this dream there, mm?" Celsius nodded once again, "Until then, try to get some more rest if you can lad. You're going to need it,"

Aye, and I as well.

* * *

Morning came swiftly enough and we didn't stick around that ravine for long. Celsius seemed more incensed than ever to reach Eterna Forest, either out of curiosity or desparation. The boy hated the dreams he had, and that was part of the reason he decided to travel with me. Ever since I first met him I decided I'd go around and try to find meaning in his premonitions. I wasn't sure how Sinnoh treated their Absol, but back at my home Pokemon learned to respect what they had to say, and many times it prevented grave disasters from happening.

Thankfully that ravine had not been far at all from Eterna. In fact we likely could have reached the forest that night, but it would have been unwise to enter the forest during that time, to say the least. Especially with Celsius' dream happening once again. Two crowns in a forest could only mean one thing...

As we entered the forest border I stopped and looked back at the young Absol. "Remember, lad, we're going to be found and we're going to be questioned. Just stay calm, and leave the talking to me,"

"Understood," Celsius replied with an even tone. Hm, he was an odd lad to say the least. The most emotion he'd ever show was fear and shock from his visions. Otherwise he was calm as could be, giving away very little. One had to look hard at his expression to see how he truly felt.

"Hmm, that's a good lad," I replied with a smirk before turning to face the forest once more. Oh we would be found, of that I had no doubt, but I had no clue which side would find us first. One was far more preferable than the other, I knew that much.

We made our way through the trees rather aimlessly. Again, the goal was to be found, not to find on our own. So though we walked with purpose we had no clear destination in mind. I was only vaguely familiar with the layout of Eterna Forest myself, for the forest was unseemly large and well known as being maze-like to newcomers. Only it's denizens could navigate those trees properly, all others either had to follow a hidden path or walk straight and pray to Shaymin.

Still, for such an unfamiliar area, I couldn't deny the welcoming feeling these trees gave me. Eterna had always been labeled sacred ground to the people and Pokemon of Sinnoh, and so no human company had ever been granted permission to harvest the forest's trees or plantlife whatsoever. It was a zone protected by both the government and Shaymin itself, touched only by time and none else. To walk through a place that has hardly changed over the course of centuries was a mystical experience.

It was one I certainly appreciated the value of.

Of course, I didn't need to be familiar with the trees to see the shadows that had stalked beneath them. It followed us for at least two minutes before I decided to humor it, chuckling loudly and looking up at the sky. Not that I could see the sky, of course, the tall trees blocked out most of it with their branches and leaves.

"You know, in Hoenn it's customary that a clan's guard make his presence known to their guests," I called out in a whimsical voice, unable to hide my grin. The shadow growled in response and I held my paw out to Celsius as sign to stop where he was. My gaze was fixed on the shadow behind the trees and I tensed the muscles in my legs. I knew what was coming next.

The large shadow burst from the trees in a blur of orange, it's form revealed to be that of a large canine-like Pokemon. Thankfully I was ready for this charge. When the Arcanine closed in on me I placed my paw on his head and pushed up while jumping, essentially leap frogging over his body to avoid his charge. I landed and shot the creature a smirk over my shoulder while the Arcanine forced his charge to a halt, whirling around and shooting a smirk of his own back at me.

"Spry as always, you old Zangoose," The Arcanine growled, standing up straight and taking a more relaxed stance.

"Old?" I guffawed, "First you make that horrible attempt to catch me off guard, and then you insult me! In front of my young protege at that!" I gestured towards Celsius, who was still a bit shaken up by the Arcanine's assault. Still his expression had shifted from one of shock back to an even one and he seemed to be studying the Arcanine curiously. No doubt it was the first time he ever saw one.

The Arcanine, who I knew to be Orion, grunted and spared Celsius a glance of his own, "I see. I dare not ask where you found this Absol. He's not yours, is he Swipes?"

I chuckled and shook my head before shooting a smile at the young Absol. "Go on now, introduce yourself,"

"My name is Celsius, it's nice to meet you," He said with a quiet but polite tone. The Arcanine gave Celsius a nod before responding.

"Well met Celsius. My name is Orion," Orion then turned his eyes to me, "So what brings you to our clan grounds, Swipes?"

I didn't have a clue as to how I would explain that answer to Orion. He was a straight-forward sort of man, blunt as a hammer and all that, so prophetic dreams from a young Absol wouldn't exactly fly with him. At least not if I was the only one vouching for it. However I knew there was one Pokemon whose word Orion would not question: his alpha's.

"Well we came here to pay Bel a visit," I replied with a grin, "But I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this forest yet. Would you mind giving us an escort?"

Orion cocked his brow but nodded, saying nothing else as he walked back through the trees. It was astounding how such a serious fellow, just moments ago, was playful in his greeting. Truly it only verified the dire situations that had cropped up across Sinnoh, and they mostly involved the clans.

Clans were interesting on their own. They were essentially societies of Pokemon, grouped together for any number of reasons. Some were born into a clan and stayed out of familiarity, some joined because they had neither a home of their own nor the strength to take their own territory. There were as many reasons to join a clan as there were restrictions of a clan's acceptance. Some clans only took in mammalian Pokemon, for example, while another may only take in Normal types. Some clans had different structures and hierarchies than others as well, though most followed an alpha who was determined either by blood inheritance or combat prowess.

Pokemon clans were a common sight in Hoenn, but only a few had deep histories throughout that region. In Sinnoh nearly all of the clans were very, very ancient. The three great clans of were prime examples of clans that had been around since before recorded history. Nobody knows how they were formed but the clan members, but all knew that they had existed since the legendaries walked among us.

In Eterna there were three major clans that ruled the area, one of which Orion was a border guard for. It was a smaller clan that focused on the combat prowess of it's members, all of whom were incredibly loyal to their alpha: a powerful Slaking named Belphegor.

Always thought his name was a bit much, so I called him Bel for short.

Thankfully our wandering had brought us close to enough to the clan grounds. It took only a few minutes of Orion escorting us to reach a clearing amongst the trees. The clearing was grassy and full of berry bushes and small hills, and it was surrounded by a wide border of tall trees. Throughout the clearing was a fascinating sight of various Pokemon honing their battle skills, either solo or with others, and not a single one bothered to stop their training to inspect myself or Celsius.

Celsius himself seemed to take great interest in the training. When I looked back to check on him I saw his gaze was firmly set on a female Buizel and Linoone partaking in the dance of combat, darting in and out of each other's space to land swift strikes. His gaze lingered for quite a bit...was he at that age? It ocurred to me that I had never asked him, and I couldn't help but grin.

If he was at that age, I could tease him to the ends of the earth.

"Belphegor!" Orion barked. My head snapped away from the young Absol and I looked straight ahead. Before us rested the great Slaking himself, who lay flat on his back with his eyes closed. His large belly raised and sunk with slowly, with each breath, and his arm twitched at the sound of Orion's bark.

Mighty Belphegor, the great alpha of this clan, was taking a nap.

I burst out into laughter while Orion continued to bark and growl at his alpha. Celsius merely shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure what to do in this situation, while I patted Orion's side with my paw "Hoo boy. Last I checked old Bel was a Slaking. Didn't realize they evolved into Snorlax!" It was a terrible joke, I know, but that's what made it funny! Unfortunately Orion didn't agree and merely shot me a quick glare before resuming his efforts to waking the alpha.

Eventually the combination of my laughter sounds managed to stir the large Pokemon and he opened his eyes with obvious reluctance.

"Hmm?" His voice rumbled like thunder as he studied the three of us, "Swipes...is that you?"

I had calmed down from my laughter at this point and shot the great ape a grin, "Aye. It's been a while, Bel,"

"Not long enough," Belphegor replied with a chuckle. The Slaking forced himself up from his back and onto his rump with what looked like great effort. He stretched his arms up into the air and let out a mighty yawn, "What brings you to my clan, friend?"

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed this young Absol I have with me," I started, gesturing to Celsius. The Absol said nothing and merely studied the Slaking, "His name is Celsius, and he's my protege,"

Belphegor chuckled once again before he crossed his arms. "This boy chose you as a protege? Some might call it a poor choice,"

I frowned in mock offense before retorting, "Oy, I take offense to that! Most would call it a great choice, eh lad?" I turned my head to Celsius and he just stared at me, the tiniest hint of a smirk tugging at his mouth. Ah, so that's how it was hm? He wouldn't insult me but he wouldn't defend me either, "Yeesh, I thought Absol were dark types not ice..."

At this point I realized I had gotten a bit side-tracked, but at least it wasn't entirely my fault. I turned my head to the Slaking once again, "Anyway, I'm sure you're familiar with the unique ability Absol possess,"

Belphegor's demeanor shifted instantly. His relaxed facial expression tensed to one more stern and serious. He didn't need to nod, I knew that he knew. "Celsius has that ability as well, of course, though his is a great deal stronger I believe. Lately he's had dreams involving two crowns battling in a forest,"

"Two crowns..." Belphegor mused, bringing one of his massive paws up to his chin, "You thought I would be doing battle?"

"Aye, and if not you then perhaps Hive Queen Elizabeth, maybe with the leader of the chateau ghosts?" I suggested. One of Eterna's three major clans, by far the largest, was a legion of bug type Pokemon unified under a lineage of Vespiquen. The current leader was named Elizabeth, and while she wasn't aggressive towards the other clans she was a stern negotiator, and quite territorial to all non-bug types.

As for the leader of the Chateau ghost types, well, I wasn't quite familiar with him. I didn't know much at all, only that he identified as a male. Rumor had it that he was a Gastly.

"I've heard nothing of the sort. Perhaps your boy there is a bit off in his prophecy," Belphegor replied. Celsius shook his head firmly and took a step forward.

"Sorry...sir," He started before continuing, "But I know what I saw, and I haven't been wrong yet. Nothing may be happening now, but if not now then soon, and if not soon then eventually," I hadn't expected such boldness from the Absol. His vision must have really shook him up if he was willing to speak so boldly to a stranger, let alone a clan alpha.

Belphegor was not one to take offense to this, thankfully. Instead he gave the Absol's words more thought and turned his eyes to the sky.

"Sir..." Orion spoke up now, taking a small step towards his alpha, "Perhaps the Medicham?"

I quirked my brow. Medicham were hardly common around Eterna, though a few of them made homes around . It must have been a traveller to have come out that way. Belphegor looked at Orion and gave a nod before turning back towards us.

"Yes. A Medicham visited us not long ago, and challeneged me personally,"

That was quite shocking. Belphegor was alpha because he was undefeated. He was the stronged member of the clan and one of the most powerful Pokemon I had ever known. His might and prowess were known across all of western Sinnoh. If anyone were to challenge him they were brave or arrogant, perhaps power hungry.

"And how did that go?" I asked. Belphegor grunted and shifted his weight, as if he was uncomfortable.

"It came to a draw...but I feel as though she held back," He answered honestly, "She was more concerned about sharing some interesting tales. Tales of evil in the southwest,"

"Evil?" I inquired further. Belphegor nodded, his expression grim as they come.

"Yes. Tales of the dead come to life...and I don't mean ghost types. She spoke of necromancy,"


	2. Grim Justice

After hearing out the alpha's tale Celsius and I were granted permission to rest in the clan grounds, of which I was grateful for. Going back out into Eterna could have meant accidentally treading on Eterna Hive territory, and I did not know Queen Elizabeth as well as I knew Belphegor. It would hold us up too much and waste valuable time: time I needed to think on Belphegor's story.

Apparently the Medicham he faced was named Yune, who hailed from a clan near Celestic town. A skilled battler if she could force Belphegor to a draw, which alone was enough to pique my interest, but she also came with tales of the dead rising in the southeast. It was a ludicrous tale: our world simply had no such thing. Ghost types were the closest one could get to the resurrected dead, but even then they were classified as living individuals separate from any past life they may have had.

Yet it wasn't ghost types that Yune had referred to, apparently. So now, on top of Celsius' dream, we had this to consider as well. Southeast Sinnoh was quite far from Eterna. Across for starters and further still at that. So it was best to focus on the young lad's premonition.

I glanced over at my protege and saw that his brow was furrowed. A different expression from his usual but still not a favorable one. I gave him a gentle pat on the head to gain his attention. "What's the matter?"

"We haven't resolved the two crowns yet," Celsius replied quietly. He shifted his weight a bit and averted his gaze, "I don't think they even believed me..."

I studied the Absol and contemplated how to handle this mood. I figured humor might be a good start, so I gave him a big smile and chuckled, "Well it is a pretty vague premonition. Most Pokemon don't even know what a crown is. Might be thinking it's some Murkrow sibling, hah?"

Celsius gave absolutely no response. His expression stayed exactly the same and he didn't even twitch. Evidently the boy was nigh impervious to humor, as bad as it may be. I sighed at my failed attempt and got to my feet.

"I'm sure Bel believed you, lad," I reassured, getting his attention once again, "But he doesn't know where to start. He's an alpha and a lot of Pokemon look up to him because of it, so it's difficult for him to commit to things like this, you understand? If he does commit then he's essentially asking them to do the same, and he can't put that on them unless he's certain it's worth any risks,"

Celsius nodded at me and stood up as well. His expression was still one of minor disappointment but at least he was making eye contact. It didn't sit right with me to see the lad look so down, especially with all he'd been through. If I couldn't make him smile I'd at least keep him moving forward.

"But if you really want to keep investigating then it might be worth our while to check out the Old Chateau," I suggested. Though we had no proof whatsoever that Yune was related to the two crowns premonition, her arrival in the area was the only suspicious thing that Belphegor had thought of to share with us. Apparently she had made a point to visit the Hive and the Chateau after her duel with Belphegor, so perhaps the ghost types had more to share.

Celsius seemed to pick up on my train of thought, "You think Yune might be involved?" He seemed skeptical and he ought to be. All I could do was shrug in response.

"Odds are she isn't. Medicham are odd Pokemon as it is, but it's still worth noting she came around spouting nonsense of the dead rising. It's not really a lead but we don't have much else to go on,"

"Agreed," Celsius replied as he approached my side. It was a damn shame we'd have to leave Bel's clan so soon. It was so nice to just relax and watch the energetic clan Pokemon train the day away.

We made sure to find Belphegor once again to let him know we were leaving. It would have been rude to walk out on the alpha who was so kind to have us as his guests without leting him know. The clan area was rather simple in it's design, it was really just a massive field, so it didn't take us long to find the Slaking once again. He appeared to be nodding off as if to try and get one last nap out of the day before I got his attention with a whistle.

"Oy, Bel," I said as I approached him, "Celsius and I are going to check out the chateau. Might be that they know more about the two crowns, or about that Medicham,"

Belphegor gave me a slow nod and forced himself to sit up. Thankfully he didn't seem too irritated that I had disturbed his nap again.

"Mhm, just be a little cautious. The Hive owns some territory between here and the chateau. They won't attack you, but you may be approached and questioned by one of the border guards,"

I had thought that could be the case but, as I wasn't familiar with exact territory lines throughout the forest, it was up to chance whether or not we stumbled across their border guard. It didn't help that the Hive was not exclusively Combee or Beedrill, like one might expect, but rather a union between any and all bug types. I had no idea what sort of Pokemon to expect at their border guard aside from one of that type.

Still, I gave Bel a nod and a mock salute, grinning as I said, "Aye aye, captain,"

The Slaking, like Celsius, was hardly impressed. Seriously, what was it with Sinnoan Pokemon? Back in Hoenn I was a riot!

Heaving a defeated sigh I looked down at the young Absol and grunted, "All right, we're off then lad," before heading off back towards the trees.

Now while I didn't know the exact territory boundaries of each clan I did know the rough locations of them. Belphegor's clan was located in the south western end of Eterna, while the Hive made up most of the north, save for the chateau in the north east. So our destination was more or less in the opposite end of the massive, maze like forest. Hardly ideal. I looked up to the sun for some quick guidance and smiled once I figured out where north east was.

Like most of my time with Celsius the journey was more on the quiet side, which led me to reflect on the lad. He had opened up a great deal since I had first met him, but ultimately he was still very quiet. He was young, just barely on his second year, and as such not yet the size of a fully grown Absol. Yet he lacked the usual energy and bright demeanor most Pokemon of his age had, not to mention the fact that Absol matured slower than the average mammalian Pokemon. He ought to still have some kittish traits, yet he had next to none.

His parents were...gone, if nothing else. I never pressed the issue but it was clear to me that they were no longer in his life. Celsius had been alone when I found him and refused to mention even their names to me. That had been...about two months ago, when autumn had first come to Sinnoh. Even if I didn't want to press the issue it didn't mean I wasn't concerned. Jirachi only knew what had become of his family, or what he had been through to not even want to mention them to me.

Only time would tell if the lad would ever be comfortable enough to share his tale with me. Until them my priority was not to figure out his past, but care for his present.

I set my gaze down to the Absol and saw that he had stopped walking. He was staring off to the side, so I followed his eyes and saw two small, floating Pokemon between the trees. One was lighter in colour and the other was darker. Once I saw them my ears picked up on what had to be a conversation between these two Pokemon. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts I must not have noticed them right away.

That or I really was getting old.

"Good eyes lad," I complimented Celsius with a smile. The Absol nodded before turning his gaze up at me.

"Should we approach them?" He asked me. I had considered that already, and it seemed as good an idea as any, so I nodded to him and proceeded to do just that.

"Ah, excuse me!" I called out to the two Pokemon. Both of them turned to me and, as we neared them, it became easier to identify them. The light coloured Pokemon was a Combee, female judging by the red mark on the bottom face. The darker coloured one was a Misdreavus, which...well, it looked female, but it was a Misdreavus. They were all rather feminine in appearance regardless of their gender. Either way the Misdreavus seemed rather distressed, at least more so than the Combee.

Out of all the Pokemon to come across, these two species were among the more interesting. A Misdreavus in Eterna almost had to be from the Chateau, while a female Combee anywhere was rare. Vespiquen were...rather vicious when they controlled a hive. Any females they bred would be killed on the spot so they would not threaten the queen's reign prematurely. If a female is alive in Eterna, that meant that Queen Elizabeth felt her reign was coming to an end and saw fit to keep a replacement ready.

"Sorry to interrupt you ladies," I went on, taking the chance of assuming the Misdreavus' gender, "But my young protege and I were just on our way to the chateau, but we're rather unfamiliar with the area, so we were just wondering if-"

"You're headed to the chateau?!" The Misdreavus cut me off with a hasty cry, her voice revealing I had guessed her gender correctly. Before I could respond she floated up right up to my face. She came so close that I had to lean back a bit to keep some distance between us, "Please, you have to help me! I was just telling Vickie here-"

" _Princess_ Victoria, Myst" The Combee interjected sharply. Ah, so I was right about that as well.

"Er, right, sorry," The Misdreavus named Myst apologized, hastily at that "I was telling princess Victoria here that the chateau is under attack!"

I blinked in surprise. That was certainly not what I expected to hear. I stood up straight and nodded, indicating that the Misdreavus officiallyhad my full attention.

"All right, tell me what you can," In the corner of my eye I saw Celsius shoot me a look. Unfortunately whatever concerns he had would have to be adressed later.

The Misdreavus seemed a little relieved that I was willing to hear her out, but she wasted no time in continuing. "A pack of Houndour led by some Houndoom stormed the chateau. They said we were hiding someone, a Medicham, and started making demands that we release her to them!"

"A Medicham?" Were these Houndour talking about Yune?

"Yes!" Myst bobbed her head, er, body, up and down as if to nod, "A Medicham did stop by the chateau a week back, but we're not harboring her or anything, I swear it!" Her eyes were full of desperation. Desperation and sincerity. This Misdreavus spoke the truth, or at least she truly believed in what she was saying.

"Myst came to me for help," Victoria the Combee spoke up once again. All three of her expressions were also rather sincere, "And I am sorry to say that I cannot do much on my own. I'd have to go to my mother and ask her to spare some troops, and against a pack of fire types it would be too great a risk. If you two could aid her then I would be grateful,"

Earning the gratitude of a potential Hive queen? That was always a plus, but even without it I wouldn't have hesitated to help out. After all we were headed to the chateau in the first place.

"Then lead on," I said, putting on a reassuring smile, "We'd be glad to help out,"

Myst gave a sigh of relief and started to float off. I started to follow her and looked back to see Celsius and Victoria doing the same. I was certain Victoria wouldn't be of much use as Combee were rather weak Pokemon on their own. Myst herself was at a type disadvantage against the Houndour and I doubted she was well-trained enough to over come that weakness.

Then there was Celsius. I had never asked the lad if he knew how to battle and he had never shown any interest. He would watch when I had to battle a territorial Pokemon whose boundaries we had crossed into, but he never said word on the battle. Though he showed neither interest or disinterest I got the feeling that he wasn't fond of battle or violence. I personally thought that was a good thing, but it left me apprehensive against bringing him to the chateau. He wouldn't survive an attack from those Houndour, of that I was certain.

So it looked like it was really up to me to handle the situation.

It wasn't long before we found a small break in the trees. Rather than a field this time there was a more ominous site. An old manor made of wood that looked as though it hadn't been touched by humankind in decades if not longer. Bits of the wood making up the exterior were missing and much of it had decayed over the years. It was honestly rather surprising that the house managed to keep standing in it's current state.

The unnerving ambience of the manor was thoroughly ruined, however, by the sounds of loud barks and shouting that echoed out from within. No doubt that was the Houndoom leader giving his pack further orders.

"That's them, isn't it?" I asked Myst for confirmation. She bobbed her head once again and stopped at the doorstep, "Can you tell me how many there are?"

"There were five of them, including their alpha...I dunno if more came or not..." Myst's tone was more nervous than it had been before. Hearing the voices of her attackers spooked her further. I wanted to give her head a pat, like I did to Celsius, but I'd have to use foresight to make that possible due to her species. Instead I clicked my tongue and smiled when she turned to me.

"All right. I'm going to head in there, and I want you to trust that I'll be just fine," I said softly, "In return I'm going to trust you to watch after my protege here,"

"Swipes..." Celsius started to intervene but I raised my paw in front of his face. I wasn't going to risk having him come in with me.

"I'll be fine lad, you just sit out here and guard the ladies all right? You three take care of each other and everything will be fine, ya hear?" The Absol shifted his feet uncomfortably. He really looked like he had something to tell me, but instead of speaking up he just gave me a silent nod. I wanted to hear him out on whatever his concerns were but I needed to deal with the Houndour situation first. If they got too angry they could burn down the entire chateau.

"Be careful, Zangoose. There are five of them and you..." Victoria paused, her gazes set clearly on left arm. Or, at least, where my left arm would be if I had one. I chuckled and merely gave her a wink before I walked up the steps to the manor.

I pushed open the doorway and stepped into the foyer of the chateau. Before me was a great staircase that led to the upper floor, and on either side of that staircase were paths that led to other areas on the first floor. There was a mild scent of rotted wood within the chateau, and to my surprise there was a great deal of antique furniture left behind.

There was also a lone Houndour, who stared at me with wide eyes, seated in front of the staircase. He appeared to be some sort of guard for the rest of the pack, which indicated to me that there were more of them upstairs.

I waved at him and smiled as brightly as I could, "Well hello there lad. Fancy seeing a Houndour in a place like this," The best thing I could do was act completely ignorant of the situation. Violence was a last resort in this situation. If could make my way to the alpha and convince him to leave then that would be a true victory.

"Stranger still to see a freaking Zangoose 'round here, and with one arm at that," The Houndour growled back, getting to his feet and taking an agressive stance. I wasn't surprised at all, Houndour were dark/fire types known for tempers and loyalty to their pack alpha, "The hell do you want?"

"Why I just came to visit an old friend..." I started and looked around. There was a definite lack of ghost types around. The only Pokemon in the foyer was this Houndour and myself. Odds were the Houndoom herded the majority of the ghost types in one area, like hostages. It was a stretch but there was a chance I could have the Houndour take me to the other ghosts, possibly the alpha.

"Oh yeah?" The Houndour replied, taking a few steps towards me, "What friend would that be, hmm?"

I took a moment to think of a ghost type that commonly lived in Sinnoh. The Houndour's sneer alone gave way to the fact that he didn't believe me. Gastly was the most obvious answer but it was all the reason to avoid using it. Eventually I came up with an idea.

"She's a Drifloon. Shy little thing, very polite but timid. Sound familiar?"

The Houndour blew a couple rings of smoke from his nostrils. Well, that couldn't be good.

"There are no Drifloon here, Zangoose," He said with a low growl. Damn, I had been foiled. That was unfortunate...for him.

The Houndour lowered his body to the ground, and he had already blown smoke. Odds were he planned to rush me and then blast me with point blank fire. A sound strategy, if a bit simple, but he made it all too obvious. I had no doubt in my mind that I could move a great deal faster than the Houndour could, but I didn't want to risk him shooting off any fire. So instead I acted passive.

"Aw come on now. We live in the modern era!" I proclaimed, throwing my paw up in the air, "It doesn't have to come to this so soon! We can sit down and have a chat. I'm sure a place like this has some tea around here...cake too! Doesn't that sound better?"

Evidently it didn't, as the Houndour rushed me with a snarl, exactly as I predicted. I stepped to the side and lashed out my right leg, striking the Houndour's neck. The blow sent him totally off balance and he spun once through the air before landing hard on his belly. He was wheezing, unable to make any other sound, which was my intention in the first place. Before he could recover from the blow I dashed over to him and brought my arm down on his ear.

Unconscious in an instant, and he didn't make a sound. Still, my foolery earlier did make some noise, so I had to double check that reinforcements hadn't arrived.

I immediately looked around the area to see if there would be any reaction to that. None, apparently, which meant the other four were all upstairs. So I made my way over to the great staircase and made sure to climb them as softly as I could.

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs I looked both left and right. There were quite a few doors that surely all led to different rooms and I had no way of telling which room the Houndoom was in. To the left hallway I saw a Houndour, who thankfully was walking with his tail turned to me. He hadn't detected me yet.

I dashed across the floor as swiftly as I could and jumped up, landing down feet first on the Houndour's back. Unfortunately this one did let out a cry of pain before I could chop the back of his ear and knock him out. As a result I saw two more Houndour burst out of the same door, just a few feet ahead of me. One of them, a female this time, opened her mouth and spat forth her flames.

If I dodged that fire it would surely hit one of the walls. As soon as any fire touched the manor the entire thing would surely catch and burn. So instead I focused energy into my own mouth as quickly as I could and spat out a ball of purplish energy, neutralizing the fire in mid air. Before either of the two Houndour could react I darted between the two in an instant, thanks to the use of quick attack, and struck the female's ear with enough force to knock her out as well.

"What the-!" The other one started to bark out but I interrupted him with one last chop, rendering him unconscious like the rest of his pack. I sighed in relief and stood up straight, my gaze set on the now open door. No doubt the alpha knew that someone had infiltrated the chateau, and there was no doubt that the ghost types were there with him.

I took a moment to catch my breath fully before stepping into the doorway. I was greeted with a fireball and immediately neutralized it with another shadow ball, just like the one before. Once the sparks died in mid air I saw that a male Houndoom, significantly older than the Houndour I had face, who stood in front of at least twenty ghost types all huddled up behind him. Most of them were Gastly, with the occasional Misdreavus, Shuppet, and Duskull, but nearly all of them wore expressions of worry and fear.

"You...who the hell are you?!" The Houndoom snapped, growling as if he were rabid. His eyes were full of rage and aggression, even more so than his tone, "What did you do to my pack!?"

I raised a paw in the air and did my best to speak calmly. This was no time for jokes or jests: my priority was the safety of the ghosts and the chateau itself.

"My name is Swipes, a Zangoose from Hoenn," I replied, "I knocked out your Houndour as swiftly and painlessly as I could manage. Give them about fifteen minutes and they'd be awake and uninjured," That was mostly true. Odds were they'd each have a killer headache due to the force needed to knock them out, but they would recover within the day.

"I'm here because I want to talk. Surely there's no need to go this far, taking hostages and invading this chateau," I continued on. The Houndoom's rage did not falter, however, and he blew a plume of smoke from his nostrils. I hoped he wouldn't do too much of that: Houndoom smoke had toxic and flammable properties. If he filled the room with it I would eventually have trouble breathing. On top of that any fire attacks he used would ignite the smoke and likely blow up the entire room.

"These ghosts are harboring an enemy of mine, and that makes them my enemy," The Houndoom snarled, "That damned Medicham!"

"Was her name Yune?" I had to know this. The Houndoom gave a curt nod in response, confirming my hunch.

"That was the bitch's name. She came to my pack with far-fetched tales of evil and undead Pokemon coming to Sinnoh," So she was travelling from clan to clan, pack to pack, sharing these tales. For what reason did she have to do that?

"She said she wanted our help to stop it, but winter is coming!" The Houndoom snapped, his temper flaring and more noxious fumes spilling forth from his mouth this time, "We can't spare our numbers to some stranger during the hardest time of the year. That's when she turned on us...her and that scum from the Ironworks, the hideous Magmar. She butchered nearly all of my pack while that Magmar blocked me from protecting them. It wasn't just him either, she had a Gastly with her too, from here no doubt!"

I was speechless. This Medicham didn't show any violence to Bel's clan aside from challenging him to a spar. Yet she culled the numbers of this pack down to a mere five? I had thought that only five was a small number for a Houndoom pack, but there was no way I would have guessed that a massacre was the reason for it.

The Houndoom's eyes were still full of rage, and I now understood why. He wanted vengeance, justice for his fallen pack members. I had to play to that emotion and try to calm him down. This was not an evil Pokemon, he was just emotional. It was sorrow and loss that fueled his rage.

"I see...words cannot describe how sorry I am. You and your pack did not deserve that, I'm sure," I started, keeping my tone calm. "But even if there was a Gastly there, that doesn't mean you can blame all of the ghosts here. If you bring them harm than you're no better than the Medicham is,"

The Houndoom was silent for a moment. One of the Duskull floated forward a mere inch and flinched when the Houndoom barked an order out to him, "Move back!"

After this instance there was silence once again. My words seemed to have some meaning to the Houndoom, so I gave him the time he needed to think. I knew all too well how appealing revenge could seem. I knew all too well the thought that comitting violence would help fill the hurt in one's heart...but they were bittersweet lies fed to us by our baser instincts. It was my hope that the Houndoom would calm down and not give into those instincts and emotions.

"Swipes!" Everyone in the room, myself included, looked to the doorway in shock. My heart sank as I saw a familiar young Absol in the doorway. His expression was dire and full of anxiety, but I'm sure mine was no different. The moment was too tense, the Houndoom was too on edge, I couldn't have more people come to the room now.

"Celsius! Damn it lad, I told you too-"

"There's something wrong here!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. I had never seen the Absol act like this. His body was trembling and it looked like his legs would give out at any moment, "This place, it's...it's just wrong,"

"I'm sorry!" No damn it! Another voice called out and this time it was Myst's. The Misdreavus floated just above Celsius, her eyes fearful and apologetic, "I-I tried to stop him, but he-"

"Liar!" The Houndoom snarled. I turned back around and saw that the Houndoom's maw was full of fire. His eyes...I had seen those that look before. It was no longer just rage in his expression, in his stance, in his tone. The canine's entire being screamed murderous intent. He was going to burn down this whole building.

"You work for her too, don't you?!" The Houndoom howled at me, his voice so full of fury that I felt the need to close my eyes, as if to shut it out, "You tried to trick me like she did! Coming here with a voice of calm, with words of peace, but you attacked my pack too!"

I forced my eyes open and turned around to Celsius. He was visibly shaken, even more so than before, and Myst seemed to fare no better. I bent down to the Absol's level and gave him a smile.

"Listen, lad...everything's going to be fine...but I need you to listen to me this time, can you do that?" I didn't know when the Houndoom was going to launch his attack, but I could smell the noxious fumes more than before. I could feel the heat of his inner fire growing behind me. It wouldn't be long now before he let loose a fire blast or an inferno.

Celsius nodded, so I continued, "I want you to close your eyes, and count to ten. Don't open them any sooner. Can you do that for me?"

The lad hesitated but soon complied. He closed his eyes and nodded once again. I looked up to Myst and gave her a reassuring nod before standing up and facing the Houndoom. Smoke flowed freely from his nostrils and his entire body had started to shake. I could see a bit of orange and red flames lick at his lips as he built up his attack within his mouth.

I closed my eyes once again. I hated this. I always hated this. No matter how hard I tried, I kept finding myself in this position.

I flicked my claws. It had been four seconds already. I didn't have a lot of time, and I'd rather be devoured by Rayquaza than let Celsius see what was about to happen. If I was right about the lad then he had already seen enough. He could do without this, he would do without this.

Six seconds.

I dashed forward at the Houndoom. To him and anyone else I was no doubt little more than a blur of white as I moved. This was a full power quick attack, even faster than the one I had used against the two Houndour before. Had I been a less trained Pokemon my vision would have tunneled in from that movement, but I was all too familiar with the sensation of rapid movement.

Seven seconds.

I brought my claw backwards and the Houndoom's eyes widened. He was about to open his maw, and if he did that then his fire would ignite the whole room. To prevent this I bit down on his muzzle, clamping my jaws shut around the tip of his mouth. Intense heat filled my mouth but the force of my bite prevented the Houndoom from releasing fire. Unfortunately his toxic smoke no doubt filled my lungs and I already felt my throat constrict in protest.

Nine seconds, and I brought my claws straight across the Houndoom's throat. From right to left they cut.

Ten seconds.

I opened my mouth, releasing the muzzle of the Houndoom and letting it fall to the ground.

I hated this.

I always hated this.


	3. Questions and Answers

I stood over the four unconscious Houndour as, one by one, the opened their eyes and regained consciousness. I managed to drag the four of them outside of the chateau with a bit of help from Celsius and set them down just outside the steps of the building. Myst was consoling the ghost types inside the chateau, tending to any of their injured, while also volunteering to clean up the mess I had made.

Of which I was thankful for.

Celsius, thankfully, hadn't seen the act itself, but I couldn't stop him from seeing the aftermath. The young Absol was at my side but, unfortunately, I still never had the time to sit down with Celsius and hear out his concerns. On top of that I now had to make sure he was all right after what he saw. His expression had remained rather blank, almost like he had shut down, and I was worried for the lad. Maybe the whole situation had just been too much for him to handle?

Ugh, regardless I didn't have the luxury of worrying about that. I had to give the Houndour my full attention and figure out their situation. After all they were now just four survivors of a pack with no alpha. The Houndour all gave me scornful looks once they came to, but it seemed as though they knew better than to attack me. I beat them once already and rather easily at that.

"Zangoose..." One of the growled at me. I recognized him as the male who had been guarding the staircase.

"Good to see that you're all awake," I started with a serious tone. The news I had to bring to these Houndour was grim, but it was my responsibility to do so. Being straight to the point was the way to go, "About ten minutes ago I struck down your alpha for the safety of the chateau and it's denizens,"

The Houndour had a few reactions to this news. At first they growled at me in anger and shock, but after a few seconds they exchanged some looks and seemed to calm down. They were certainly not happy, yet they seemed to understand why it ended that way. No doubt they had thought their alpha's aggression towards the ghost types was rash, even if he had his reasons.

"I see..." The same Houndour from before spoke. If he was going to speak for the rest of his remaining pack members then I wanted to hear out his name. I knelt down before him and made eye contact with the canine.

"What's your name, lad?"

The Houndour held eye contact with me and answered, "Garon,"

"Well, Garon...without your alpha what will you four do now?" I asked. Garon looked at the other Houndour, who muttered their concerns and thoughts to him quietly. I waited patiently for them to finish before Garon spoke up again.

"We don't know. Our old territory has likely been taken by a new pack or clan, and there are too few of us to really claim a new territory," Garon began with a furrowed brow, "On the other hand winter draws near, so food sources and shelter will become scarcer still. It will be very difficult for us to last the season without our alpha and no territory to call our own,"

I closed my eyes again and to let Garon's words sink in. The plight of these Houndour was a direct result of my hasty response to the threat that had been their alpha. Any poor fate they suffered henceforth was in part my fault as well. It was a harsh reminder that choosing to end a life affected those that life had been important too. I may have saved the ghost types but I also may have doomed the Houndour.

My mind raced for a solution to their plight. Sinnoh was not my true home and I was a nomad, so I had no territory to offer the Houndour. I could not promise them food either. But I did know of someone who could offer these things to them, so long as they were willing to work for it.

"In the south western part of this forest there is a warrior clan that accepts any species, so long as they are willing to fight and train," I told the Houndour. "Head in that direction and you will likely be approached by one of their border guards. Tell them your plight and I am certain they will take you in, if only for the winter,"

Garon turned to the other Houndour and gauged their reactions. Of course they were still not pleased, but it was a better solution than any that they may have had, if they had any at all. So after some deliberation the gave each other grudging nods.

"It sounds like our best option," Garon stated, turning from his pack members to me once more.

"Mhm, and let them know that Swipes sent you," I hoped that my commendation would help convince Bel to take them into his clan. I was fairly confident that he would, knowing what sort of 'mon he was, but I didn't want to blindly think that the situation would just happen to work out.

"I will..." Garon hesitated. After a moment he gave a curt nod before standing up straight, "Thank you then, Zangoose,"

"Sorry, I just have one last question," The pack paused and waited for me to continue, "Did Yune really...well, attack your pack like that? Do you have any idea why?"

Garon's eyes narrowed and he looked away, "It was rather sudden. She was nice, polite at first, but once our alpha declined her offer she made her move not a minute later," There was bitterness dripping from his tone. The other Houndour growled quietly, as if to agree with him, "I don't know what sparked the change and I don't know why she did what she did...but she's not to be trusted. She's two-faced, a liar, and a murderer,"

His words were harsh but they were sincere, and his bitter tone held finality to it as well. I knew better than to press the subject any further and simply nodded as the pack went along it's path. The whole situation was strange, and I wound up with more questions than answers. Was Yune some sort of sociopath? No, it didn't add up. She was concerned about some evil and necromancy, but she herself slaughtered nearly an entire Houndour pack practically on a whim.

Was she just insane?

"Swipes," Celsius stated my name firmly. I turned to look at him and met his gaze. Right, I owed the young one a conversation.

"Celsius...sorry, this whole day got really hectic really quickly," I said with a weak chuckle, scratching the back of my head with my claws. "Are you okay, though? Things got ugly in the chateau...and I wish you didn't have to see what you did,"

To my surprise, and relief, Celsius nodded. His expression was still even, but his tone held some sincerity, "I'm fine, it's okay," He replied. I sighed and relaxed a little before the Absol continued, "My primary concern is the chateau itself. There's something...wrong, in that place. I don't even think the ghosts should live there..."

Celsius visibly shivered, just like before. Whatever he felt from the chateau was either real or he truly believed it was real. Celsius was young but he wasn't a newborn either, I decided to trust that what he felt was real, though I had no idea what was responsible for that ominous feeling.

"We feel it too, you know," Celsius and I turned around and saw Myst floating over to us, princess Victoria at her side. The Misdreavus must have finished checking up on her fellow ghost types, "But we ghosts aren't exactly welcome in most areas. Many Pokemon distrust us and some...well, you saw today, they'll seek us out and attack us. We'll take an ominous home if it keeps most threats away,"

Her reasoning was sound enough, but her words triggered something in my mind. I remembered that the Houndoom stated a Gastly had been with Yune when she attacked his pack. I didn't want to assume that the Gastly had come from the chateau, but it could shed some light on the situation.

"Say, Myst. That Houndoom in there mentioned that there was Gastly with the Medicham. I'm thinking it's the reason he was under the impression you were in league with her. Any chance that Gastly came from your chateau?"

I didn't need to hear her answer. Myst's eyes widened. She must not have caught that part, or perhaps she hadn't been there when he told me, but she looked like she had been struck with total disbelief.

"It...it's possible...very possible, that it was our leader, Durban. Yune the Medicham did visit us as well, and told us tales of evil in the south, of the dead rising again. She asked for assistance and Durban was the sole volunteer...but..."

"You don't believe he'd sanction such violence," I was right on the mark. Myst nodded and looked away. It was hard to believe and yet hard not to believe as well. We did not know if Durban truly accepted the violence, but the Houndoom said that the Gastly helped prevent him from saving his pack members. He may not have killed directly, but if that was truly the case then he may as well have.

Victoria buzzed over to her friend and looked at her empathetically, but said nothing. She seemed as though she wanted to cheer up Myst but had no idea what to say. I myself was at a loss for words. There was just too much to think about, and too much we didn't know.

" Victoria!" A snappy, femine voice called out. All eyes were drawn to another female Combee, one whose expressions were of distaste, as she buzzed directly over to Victoria. She didn't even spare myself or the others a glance, "Goodness have I been searching for you. The Queen wishes to speak with you,"

Another female Combee? Must have been another of Elizabeth's daughters. The queen's reign was truly coming to an end if she allowed not one but two princesses to live.

"Yes, of course Matilda," Victoria replied. She gave Myst a small smile and a nod before pausing and turning to Swipes and myself. "I thank you for your aid today. You went above and beyond for mere strangers, and your noble acts shall not be forgotten. I am indebted to you,"

I blinked at the Combee's formality and couldn't help but chuckle. I was certainly not used to be spoken to in such a way, "Sure, if you want, but you don't owe me a thing. Just give my regards to the Queen,"

Victoria merely nodded before buzzing over to her sister and exiting the area, making their way into the trees. Once they entered the treeline I saw a fair bit of rustling in the bushes and leaves. It seemed Princess Matilda had brought an escort along with her. Made sense, Combee were not very powerful Pokemon and the females were potential heirs. They had to be protected at all times. I'm certain Victoria herself would get scolded for coming so far without an escort of her own.

A part of me had wanted to ask Victoria about Yune's visit to the hive, but by that point I was convinced I wouldn't get any new information. Clearly Yune did not attack the hive much like how she left Belphegor's clan alone, else I'm positive it would have been mentioned. She recruited from the chateau, apparently from the Fuego Ironworks as well, and attacked the Houndour pack. It just didn't add up...

I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set. With winter approaching the days were only getting shorter and shorter still. I did not want to suffer the nightmare of navigating through Eterna Forest in the dark, so I turned to Myst. Before I could say anything the Misdreavus spoke up first.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to thank you myself," She said with a tired smile, "So thank you, Swipes and Celsius, sincerely. We suffered no casualties thanks to your help today,"

I returned her smile with one of my own. "Always a pleasure, little miss, but I'm afraid we have to depart. We should be in Eterna for at least another day or so. If you get the chance feel free to pop into Belphegor's clan and say hello!"

Myst nodded, the poor ghost tried to match my energy but came up short. It had been a long day, and an emotional one for her. No doubt she was drained and needed rest. Celsius said his farewells after I did and, with that, we turned our backs to the chateau and headed towards Belphegor's clan. We had permission to spend a few nights there and I at least wanted to spend one night.

Just as the walk to the chateau was at first, the walk back from the chateau was quiet. Except this time I could feel that Celsius wanted to say something, but the lad was hesitant. I didn't push him, and instead waited for him to be ready to speak. A few moments passed before Celsius finally spoke up.

"Swipes," His voice eventually came.

"Yes, lad?"

"Why did you help the chateau?" I blinked and looked back at him. He didn't seem angry, but he was serious. That wasn't necessarily what I had been expecting out of him. I thought on it for a few moments. Why did I help the chateau? Well, I knew why I did, but I had to think of a simple answer for Celsius.

"Well...do you ever really need a reason to help someone?" I asked. Celsius was quiet, so I continued, "Imagine, if you will, just how wonderful our world would be if more people stopped to help out others. It doesn't matter whether they know them or not, or whether the problem is big or not. I get that not everyone can help out either. Some are busy or physically unable to...but so long as I'm free and able, I want to lend a paw to all who need it,"

"And Yune?" Celsius asked, "Would you lend a paw to her, too?"

Tch, the Absol was too damn smart for his own good. I understood the point he was trying to make but it did not change my answer, "Yes, I would help her too, just perhaps not in the way you think. Sometimes what people want isn't what people need,"

Celsius looked to the ground in silence. There was more he wanted to say, and I had a hunch as to what it was, but it never came. To be honest I was glad. He was going to question what right I had to decide what people needed, and I didn't have a solid answer to it. Sometimes you were just able to tell with intuition, but sometimes that intuition was wrong.

There was some silence between us once again until Celsius spoke up, "We never found out about the two crowns,"

"Aye, not yet lad. But we will. We'll still stick in the area for a few days yet. I'm sure Bel won't mind," I answered. I had been so caught up in the Yune situation that the two crowns had practically slipped my mind. There just so much happening that we had no answers to, it was downright maddening, "But either way I think we're both in need of some sleep, hm?"

Celsius nodded, but pressed on, "One last thing, Swipes. I'd...like it if you trained me. To battle like you,"

I stopped walking and turned to Celsius, my brow raised in curiosity. Celsius had shown absolutely no interest in battle before. He'd seen me train and said nothing, he'd seen me fight and said nothing. So why now? What changed? But, despite my curiosities, I decided I was better off not questioning him. My answers would come with time, no doubt.

I knelt down, patted the Absol on the head, and gave him a smile before answering, "Sure thing, lad,"

* * *

Eterna Forest was a rather mystical place, both at daytime and night. However at night time that ambience was even greater. The feeling that you were walking through history itself was more present than ever, and the sight of moonlight slipping through the branches and leaves was gorgeous. It was a truly beautiful area, and no small wonder it was home to so many Pokemon whether they were in one of the clans or not.

I laid down on my back and smiled up at the stars, just like the night before. I had to take advantage of nights I could spend in the open before winter hit Sinnoh. It was only a few months away now, but the northern region would be feeling it's effects far sooner than that. Between Yune and the two crowns there was so much to think about, but I didn't want my mind to linger on those. I just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of the forest and drift off to sleep.

"BWAH!"

Alas, that would have to wait just a moment longer.

"Celsius!" I called out in a loud whisper. I forced myself to my feet and turned around to see the Absol breathing heavily, his eyes wide. "That dream again?"

To my surprise he shook his head.

"A new one this time, then?"

"Yes..." He started to catch is breath before continuing, "There was fire...but it was in a field, this time. Farmlands, the countryside...it all became ashes,"

That was a grim premonition and not nearly as subtle as the two crowns. Odds were there was going to be just that: a great fire somewhere in the countryside of Sinnoh. Yet despite the dark nature of that premonition Celsius seemed to relax rather quickly.

"I see...anything else?" I asked.

"When the fire died down there was something left in the fields..." His voice was softer now, quiet and reflective. "It was...bright...and it was blue. It was a good blue,"

I quirked my brow. I had no idea what that part could be, but if something good was to come of that event then it was imperative we were there to find it. Farmlands in the countryside...there was an area out by Eastern Sinnoh that matched that description quite well, with a farming town right near it to boot.

"Do you think we should go?" Celsius asked me. I met his gaze and gave him a smile.

"Aye, lad. I think it'd be best,"

Yune, the two crowns, and this hope in a great fire. So many events and people to uncover and understand, and many more we still hadn't heard about. I wasn't certain we'd be able to resolve all of Sinnoh's problems on our own, but we had to try. We had to. There was no way I was going to give up on this region so easily.

Yet I didn't have the foggiest idea just how dangerous, how vast the goal I had comitted myself to would be. And I couldn't have possibly dreamed of what Celsius and I would find in that great fire.

* * *

 **Hello all! And welcome to my story! If you've made it this far then you've made it to the end of the prologue! There is much more to come and I'm so excited to share it all with you :D. So please, stick around, and enjoy your stay**


	4. Act 1: Riolu

**Riolu POV**

The season was autumn but the day was a rare beauty. The sun shone so bright it could have passed for summer, even with the colourful leaves that had begun to drift to the ground and the crisp breeze. The birds Pokemon chirped energetically and the bushes rustled and bustled with life. While winter was just around the corner the meadow I lived in had yet to feel it.

I myself was crouched behind the trunk of a large tree, a paw raised to my mouth to stifle my chuckles. My ears were alert to all the sounds around me and I scanned the area as best I could with my eyes. Somewhere out there my parents were searching for me, and it was my goal to stay hidden for as long as possible, or at least until they gave up on searching. It was a game called "Hide and Seek", and I was determined to win this time.

The crack of a snapped twig rang out from behind me and I looked back to check if it was one of my parents. To my relief it was merely a confused Bidoof who cocked his head at my. I brought a paw up and shushed very quietly in an effort to tell the Bidoof to keep silent. He seemed to understand my message and nodded his head slowly before continuing on his way.

I drew a quiet breath and decided I needed to re-position. My back was too open to ambush and I wanted to move to a spot where I could see my parents. However I didn't want to be caught while I was on the move, so I took care to step as lightly and quietly as I could. I crept my way from behind the tree over to some nearby bushes and kept my eyes trained on the meadow before me.

As I shifted along I eventually saw tall, blue furred Pokemon walking through the meadow. It was hard to tell from the distance if it was male or female but it was definitely a Lucario, which meant it was one of my parents. They didn't seem to have a clue as to where I was, which was good, but I still couldn't see the other parent, so I kept moving along to the next nearest tree. This had been my best run yet! I couldn't believe my parents hadn't found me yet.

So when I felt the all to familiar tap of a paw on my shoulder I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around and met the smiling face of my mom with a frown.

"Good try son," My mom said with a light giggle. I was still a bit sore from losing, though, and crossed my arms to make sure she knew it.

"Aww. I was doing so well," I replied with a pout. Usually it only took them about ten minutes to find me, but I was certain that this round had gone almost to twenty. Mom patted my head and stood up straight, still wearing that smile of hers.

"You did, son, you did. Now let's head over to Dad and start getting ready for dinner, hm?" With that she made her way out of the bushes and into the field, where my dad was still wandering about. I followed her and pouted again when Dad chuckled at the two of us.

"She found you eh? Well, it was a good run son," He said with a wink.

"One time we should make it a two on one in my favour, instead of two of you tracking me down," I suggested. My parents considered it for a moment, exchanging looks and everything, before smiling and nodding.

"We'll think on it, to be sure. Maybe then you can actually win one day," My dad said with a grin. I rolled my eyes and walked away from them. I wasn't actually mad, but it was a little frustrating to never win the game. Just one win would be nice. "Ahh don't be like that Riolu. Now, what did you want for dinner?"

"Uh, fruits! Lots of them before winter comes and they're all gone!" I answered, spinning around and grinning at my parents.

Riolu. It wasn't my name, it was my species. My parents followed some custom that dates back to their old home. Apparently young Riolu were named after old heroes, but only on their second birthday. Mine was in the winter, a few months away yet, so I still hadn't been named by my parents. They just called me "Riolu" or "Son" to substitute a name.

My mind was stuck on the subject as my dad wandered off into the trees, presumably to find dinner. I didn't know the names of any heroes or anything like that, but apparently I was going to share a name with one of them. When I was younger still I had been really impatient about naming and always pestered my parents to name me early. They never caved, though, and always said they were intent on keeping with tradition.

Once again I was forced to leave it at that. I looked over and saw that Mom was cleaning up the eating area, picking out any dirt or old leaves we had brought with us from the forest.

She always liked to keep the field clean, particularly the hill in the center of it. We always ate our meals at the top of the hill, and I liked it because I could see the entire field from it. The view was really nice, especially during autumn. Slowly, day by day, the tree leaves were changing colour. Some of them had even started to fall already.

I looked up at the sky and wrinkled my brow. The sun had just begun to set, but it would be some time before the sky actually got dark. It would take Dad a bit to find enough food for dinner and I didn't want to be bored during that wait. Mom wouldn't play, not now, but maybe one of the neighboring Pokemon would.

"Mom! I'm just going to play for a bit! I won't go far, I promise!" I called out to her as I made my way to the field's edge. She called out her approval and a reminder not to go too far, even though I had said I wouldn't. Honestly I didn't think I'd need to go far. The forest outside our field was fairly populated. I've played with Ralts, Bidoof, Psyduck, and even a Stunky one time. For the most part they had all been very friendly! Maybe I'd find a new Pokemon this time, even if we only played for a little bit.

Turned out I was right about not needing to far. I had only taken a good few steps into the forest before I saw a red blur head towards me. I froze and tried to get a better look, then jumped slightly when the blur stopped right in front of me. I was met with two very large, green eyes that were just inches away from mine, and relaxed greatly when those green eyes pulled back a bit.

"Oh geez, sorry about that!" The red creature exclaimed. Though it's eyes were big and gree the rest of its main body was, indeed, red. It had six black legs and a pair of clear wings that beat so fast I couldn't even see them properly. It had to be some sort of bug type Pokemon, but I had never seen one like it before. "I-I was in a bit of a rush, you see, so I was flying real low you know for the speed and I just tunnel visioned and...and...sorry,"

I blinked at the creature. It spoke very fast so it took me a second to really understand what it had said, but it's eyes were very sincere. It's voice sounded masculine but his tone was really nervous, though, and it reminded me of my own whenever I had misbehaved and was about to get got for it.

"Um, it's okay, you just spooked me a little," I answered slowly. The bug type nodded his head very quickly and I saw his eyes dart around. He looked like he was about to take off at any second! But I still had questions for him, and I still needed a playmate. "So, uh, what are you? I'm a Riolu,"

"Huh? Me?" The bug type answered, his eyes finally focusing on me once again. "Oh I'm a Yanma, name's Draco. A bug type. Not really from around here and uh...I'm starting to think I'm lost...again..."

So he was lost? I started to feel very sorry for Draco. Being lost was really scary. Back when my parents had decided to move from our old home to the new one I could remember getting sidetracked and leaving their side to go chase a Mothim. The Mothim ignored me and flew away, but when I looked back my parents had gone. They weren't gone for very long, but not knowing where they were or where I was had been the most frightening experience I had ever gone through.

Despite that I didn't really know what to say. I only knew the area around the field and that we were near some small human town. I didn't know what it was called or any landmarks that Draco might recognize.

Still, he looked to me with hopeful eyes, "You uh, wouldn't happen to know where this is...would ya?"

"Oh, um...I don't really know the name of this place, just that it's my home," I answered. Draco's eyes darkened with a bit of sadness when I was struck with an idea, "Oh! My parents might know, though, and they live right near here!"

The Yanma's eyes widened, even wider than they already were, "Oh yeah? That sounds good, thank you...uh..."

"Riolu, it's just Riolu. I don't have a name yet," I answered as I turned towards the field. Draco didn't say anything in reply so I figured he understood. Explaining why I didn't have a name was practically a daily routine for whenever I found a new playmate. Just about every single other Pokemon already had a name whether they were my age or younger, so it was confusing to them.

It didn't take me very long to enter the field again and, from the looks of things, Dad hadn't returned with dinner yet. I looked back at Draco and gestured for him to keep following me before heading up the hill to find my Mom. She was seated at the top, her paws in her lap and her eyes closed. Ah, she did this from time to time. It was something called "meditation".

"That was fast, Son" My Mom said before I could speak. Her eyes were still closed but she was smiling, "And it seems you found another new playmate?"

"Uh, sort of," I answered. Mom opened her eyes and looked over at Draco and I. She raised a brow curiously and Draco chuckled a bit nervously.

"Er, hi there. Sorry to bother ya..." He started, "But I'm a little lost, see. My fetch and I come from the marshes in the south..." Draco stopped and examined our faces. I looked at Mom and saw she was just as confused as I about whatever a "fetch" was. "Oh, right. A fetch is a group of Yanma. Not really a clan, just a group that migrates together,"

"That's what I thought," My mother responded as she got to her feet, "So you come from the Pastoria marshes, then,"

"Yes! Right near there," Draco replied, "Now winter's coming, as I'm sure you know, but when winter comes the fetch always migrates to islands up north. It's a far flight, but the winter doesn't hit there nearly as hard as it does here,"

Now that confused me, too. How did winter hit the north softer than it did in the south? I always thought it got colder the further north you went. Mom didn't question it, though, so I figured that I could just ask her later.

"But you got separated," Mom stated. Draco nodded his head and shifted from side to side in the air. "And you don't know your way there?"

"Er, yes..." Draco trailed off and slowly descended to the ground. His wings must have been pretty tired. "Uh, am I at least headed in the right direction?"

I looked at Mom and saw a familiar expression on her face. She wore a smile but it was a small, soft one, and her eyes had a sympathetic twinkle to them, "This is north of the marshlands, yes...but it's quite the distance away from your destination. I certainly don't know the way myself,"

I looked over to Draco and felt bad for him. He looked really down to hear that news, his gaze even drifted down to the ground.

"O-oh...I see..."

I set my gaze to Mom's and she met mine. I didn't really know what to say to her or to Draco, but I felt so bad for him. His whole family and all of his friends were headed so far away and he didn't even know how to join them. There had to be something we could do to help, or to make things better.

Thankfully Mom seemed to come up with something. Her expression brightened a bit and she looked at Draco, "Well...I know it's not where your fetch wound up, but there's a large forest out west called 'Eterna'. There's a pretty big insect clan out there that calls itself a hive. I'm sure if you went there seeking refuge they'd welcome you with open arms,"

Draco's expression lit up and mine with it. His wings buzzed a bit and he looked at Mom with a hopeful expression, "R-really? You think so?"

My mother wore a genuine and happy smile by this point, "I really do. They're always welcoming to new bug types,"

Draco took to the air once again, "Thank you so much! You said out west, right! How far?!" He sounded hyper now, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his energy. It was really contagious.

"Well, it is across ...I'm not sure how fast you can travel, but it would be about a week's journey for me, and that's if I traveled at my fastest the entire duration," Mom explained, "There's a human city called 'Hearthome' just west of here that should serve as a good landmark. It's a rather large city and it's built right near the mountain. Cross over it and head slightly northwest and you should find it with no difficulty,"

I tried to envision the journey my mother had just described in my mind. Even when we had traveled from our old home it had only taken us a few days to do so. To think that this trip could span over a week, to me, was mind blowing. I could only imagine how long it would take to travel across all of Sinnoh! Probably almost a year long!

"Ohh that's excellent! Thank you!" Draco exclaimed loudly, "If that's the case I should be going now! Want to get there before the cold really sets in, you know, so-" My Mom cut the Yanma off and raised her paw, gesturing him to stop talking for a moment.

"Sorry, just one moment," Mom she started, "I'm just a little bit curious. I know that the cold weather is coming, but even still this migration seems rather...early, compared to the migrations of other Pokemon. Any reason why?"

Draco was quiet for a moment. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he was searching for the right words to answer Mom's question. Eventually, though, he did speak up again, "Our old home felt...threatened. Not just by our usual predators but by some odd events that had been occurring,"

"The elders in the fetch claimed they had seen strange lights in the forests, and rumors of other clans, tribes, and packs being attacked and assaulted near our area. Combine that with the fact that winter was coming and, well, it just seemed like the right idea I guess,"

Strange lights and attacks on clans? It sounded a bit scary, but I didn't mind too much just to hear about it. After all the marshes were probably a good distance away from our field. When I noticed that Mom was silent, however, I started to feel a little bit worried. We wouldn't be attacked by anything...would we?

"I see," Mom eventually said, "Thank you for telling me,"

"Oh it's no problem, it's the least I could do," Draco replied with a small smile. He then turned to me before he continued, "And thank you too, Riolu. If you didn't bring me to your mom who knows where I would've ended up,"

Draco's words cleared my mind of those fears and worries, and I couldn't help but smile at him and nod in return, "Your welcome Draco! I hope you have a safe trip!" I exclaimed and offered him my paw. Draco started at the paw with a perplexed expression, and it took Mom's chuckling for me to understand why. Draco didn't have any paws to shake mine with, just his small black legs. Still he did extend a leg to touch the paw and I laughed a little. It was close enough.

"You folks take care now," And with that the Yanma took off. He flew over to the trees like little more than a red blur and was gone. Well, he hadn't been a play mate, but he was still an interesting fellow.

Still, I came out of that feeling rather proud. I had helped another Pokemon and it felt really good, too. Though I had to admit it had mostly been my Mom that helped him out, and I was grateful for it. So I made sure to tell her, "Thanks Mom,"

"Hmm? What for?" She asked, her gaze now set on me.

"For helping Draco,"

"Oh, that? Well of course I helped him," My Mom said with a smile before she gave my head a pat. My tail swished in response to the contact and my smile only gre "It's always good to help out your fellow Pokemon, in any way you can. After all I'd want another Pokemon to do the same for you or Dad,"

"Speaking of your father...I think he's on his way here now. Why don't you greet him and tell him he's late, hmm?" Mom suggested with a small grin. At first I didn't know how she figured out Dad was nearby, but soon I heard the soft footsteps as well. I grinned and response and darted down the hill, eager to tell Dad what had happened and eager still for dinner.

When I made my way to the edge of the field, though, I slowed my run to a stop. My ears had been accurate...but it wasn't Dad that I met at the treeline. Instead I saw three Pokemon, all of whom were unfamiliar to me, and they stood side by side.

The Pokemon on the left was round and...the strangest looking. It had large eyes that were mostly white and a body that looked almost like a black and purple cloud. There were wisps of black and purple surrounding the main body but even then the shape stayed more or less perfectly round.

On the far right there stood a Pokemon that was full-bodied and bipedal, like my Mom and Dad. It had a strange fire pattern on it's belly and was coloured red and white. It had a mouth that looked like a beak, yet it's body didn't look at all like a bird's. It had arms and not wings, and a tail with no feathers. The tip of that tail had a small fire on it, too, so I figured it had to be a fire type.

The Pokemon in the middle of the trio, however, looked the most normal. It was taller than I was, like the other two, and stood on two legs. Most of it's body was a sort of beige grey, but the top of it's head and it's legs were like a purplish-pink.

All three of the Pokemon turned their gazes down to me, and I felt a bit intimidated, but the one in the middle smiled.

"Ah, I'm sorry to disturb you and yours at this hour," It's voice was very feminine and really soft, almost like my Mom's at night time.

"Riolu!" My Mom called out to me. I looked back and saw her walking towards me. She must have figured out that these Pokemon weren't Dad either. "Come here, son,"

I walked over to my Mom's side as she approached and looked up at her expression. She studied the three Pokemon before returning the middle one's smile, "Sorry about that, I thought you were someone else..."

"Quite all right, we are the ones intruding on your territory, after all," The middle Pokemon replied with that serene tone. She then crossed an arm over her chest and dipped her body forward. I had seen the motion before, Mom had called it a "bow".

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yune,"


	5. A Cruel Fate

The strange gray Pokemon had introduced herself as Yune. It was a foreign name to me, but at least it was a solid way to identify her. She stood there, still smiling softly, as she awaited our introductions. I dared not speak, and instead looked to my mother. She stayed silent for a moment before she matched Yune's introduction.

"My name is Silvia," Mom stated. It had been a long time since I had actually heard her introduce herself to someone, so her name was almost unfamiliar. After all I only ever called her Mom, "And this is my son, Riolu?"

Yune quirked her brow, and I knew what question was coming even before she asked it, "I see...and just Riolu? No name for the little guy yet?"

Mom gave a small smile, which set me at ease. If she was starting to relax then I felt it was safe to do the same, "Not yet I'm afraid. We won't be naming him until his second year," Yune nodded at this and I noticed her companions remained silent. The round purple one had a small smile on his face while the red and yellow one had a more blank expression.

They hadn't introduced themselves yet, and Mom noticed this as well, "How about your friends, there,"

Yune blinked, as if she was genuinely surprised at the question, then shot both of her companions a quick look, "Ah yes...how rude of them," She said with a gentle chuckle, "Go on then, you certainly don't need me to introduce you,"

"Of course not," The round one spoke up first, matching Yune's chuckle with one of his own, "My name is Durban. Do forgive my rudeness, I've just never seen a Lucario before. Such a rare species, and we certainly didn't expect to come across one here,"

Ah, so the round one's name was Durban. The funny thing was I myself had never seen any Lucario or Riolu aside from my parents. If we were really that rare then it all added up. My gaze shifted from Durban to the yellow and red one, as he had yet to speak. He crossed his arms and looked between my mother and I.

"Name's Sulfur," He spoke in a voice so curt it practically made me flinch. Sulfur's expression was still blank, neither a smile nor a frown nor a wrinkle in his brow, but his tone was off-putting all the same. He sounded as though he should be frowning.

Yune's gaze shifted to a hard stare on Sulfur and there was a crease in her brow. Maybe she didn't appreciate his tone either?

"I see...well, it's nice to meet you three," My Mom started, breaking the brief silence, "Now may I ask how I can help you?"

"Right, I suppose we should get on to business then," Yune answered while the other two kept silent once more. She took a small step forward and cleared her throat, but she hesitated when her gaze fell to me, "Before I start, though, I should warn you what I have to share might not be suitable for his young ears. Are you sure you want to have him around for this?"

Now my curiosity was piqued. I looked up to Mom and met her gaze but didn't tell her that I wanted to stick around. Apparently I didn't have to, as Mom quickly replied with, "It's all right. He can stay,"

"If you're sure," Yune answered with a smile, "In that case, my comrades and I have been travelling across all of Sinnoh for a few months now. Our reasons for doing so is to spread word of the horrors we have seen,"

Horrors? This had already started to sound a bit familiar...

"You mean the strange lights in the south? Yes, we had just received a similar warning," Mom stated with a frown. Right! It sounded familiar because of what Draco had said earlier.

Yune paused, keeping quiet a moment before speaking again, "Strange lights, you say? We...have not actually seen that, but I suppose they could be related, especially if it was in the south..."

"No, we did not come to warn you of lights. I speak of true horrors. Tales from old myth come to reality," Yune sat down now and crossed her legs. I looked to Mom before she too took a seat, so I sat down next to her, "Do you know what a prophecy is?"

"Yes," Mom's voice was curt and sharp now, "Sinnoh is riddled with them. Especially the older clans and those human books,"

"You'd be right. Our region is loaded with history fanatics, and every day it seems a new prophecy is dug up," Yune replied, "But those prophecies are all ancient, and speak of such grand events as the second coming of Arceus herself. What I have come to tell you of is proof of a prophecy I myself bore witness to, many years ago,"

"I was but a Meditite, one who lived in a clan near Mt. Coronet. We were peaceful and safe, but very spiritual. Our elders meditated for up to ten hours a day and said that they communed with the spirits, of our world and the next,"

Yune's words were starting to confuse me a bit. Whenever I heard the word spirit it usually was said by Dad to me. He'd tell me I was very spirited, even for a young Riolu. Apparently that meant energetic or full of life. Surely these elders or whatever hadn't been communicating with people who were spirited like me, right?

"I confess I never put too much stock in the elders, myself," Yune continued with another small smile, "I respected them and their wisdom, but communicating with spirits had seemed a bit far-fetched to me. Of course, my opinion changed when I saw our chief elder trip over her own feet one day. I offered my paw to help her up, and when she took it my vision was flooded with light,"

"I saw Sinnoh, all of Sinnoh. I saw the snowfields to the north, the marshes in the south, the forests in the west and the wetlands to the east. I saw the mountain ranges in it's center and even Mt. Coronet itself...and each and every one of them was barren. Lifeless, and red with blood,"

I bit my lip and tried not to shudder. Yune's tale had started to feel more and more like some bedtime terror story Dad would tell me as a joke. In fact, that's when I realized that Dad hadn't returned yet. Now I started to feel worried all over again...but Yune kept talking.

"There wasn't a single living Pokemon in the hellscape I was witnessing," Yune's smile was gone, replaced with an even expression just like Sulfur's, "Instead I saw the souls of departed Pokemon. They were covered in a green glow and...oh, how they screamed. It was nightmarish, horrible. A sea of tormented Pokemon who screamed and cried out in anguish,"

"But in the center of it all I saw a strange creature. I couldn't recognize it as any Pokemon I knew of, but it was swarmed by those agonized souls. Almost covered with them. The only real feature I could make out of the creature was it's twisted grin. As if it was thriving in that hell. As if it had won,"

Silence. I didn't know what to say, but it had gotten difficult not to shiver a bit at the scary words Yune had spoken. I looked to Mom for some small comfort but her gaze was firmly set on Yune, her lips pursed tight.

"But before my vision ended, I saw a single living Pokemon descend upon the demon. It's wings were as white as snow, but the rest of it's body was cloaked in a light like dark steel. At first I thought it a creature of peace, but as it mercilessly struck down the demon, shattering it completely, I realized that ours would be a dark saviour. An agent of death itself, come to put an end to the demon that twisted death for it's own purpose. With the demon destroyed those poor souls floated up to the skies, their screams silenced at long last,"

Yune paused and took a deep breath before she went on to continue, "That was when my vision ended. My gaze met the elder's and she asked me if I saw it as well...and I told her I did. I changed after that I had to. I knew what I had witnessed was no delusion or nightmare, but a vision of the future. Of Sinnoh's future. OUR future,"

There was more force in Yune's words now. Just like her earlier smile her soft tone was gone, "I began to research all I could, about souls and Pokemon that could control them. I found very little...and anyone I asked gave me looks as if I were insane. But I know what I saw. I decided that I needed to take it upon myself to make sure that future did not come to pass, and that if I were to fail...then I needed a contingency plan,"

Yune looked between us and was met with more silence still, so she continued on once again, "That is why I travel. To warn others of that dark future, and to gain allies in my stand against it. In fact, that is why I have come here,"

"You want my assistance in your...quest?" Mom asked bluntly. Yune gave a nod, and she briefly smiled once again.

"I know the tale is much to take in, but the signs have already come to us. Pokemon in the south have spoken to me of their deceased loved ones walking once again, moving through the dark of night with a strange light in their eyes,"

"It's true, I fear" For the first time since his introduction Durban had spoken up. The strange floating Pokemon moved forward and hovered beside Yune, "Even ghost types are not immune to this dark power. Countless young ghost types have gone missing, ocassionally seen with their eyes emanating that awful light..."

I whined at the image my mind conjured up. Ghost types were already scary enough. Death and blood and nighttime were already scary enough. These Pokemon, though...they were taking it too far. I didn't want to hear any more about it, I wanted them to stop talking about it.

Mom's gaze immediately snapped towards me and, thankfully, she was quick to speak up, "That's enough. I understand,"

Yune's mouth opened to speak again, but she paused and looked to her left. I followed her gaze and smiled as I saw my Dad enter the area. He carried a good variety of fruits in his arms and he gave me a quick smile when he saw me.

"Hey there, sorry I'm late...seems I missed out on a bit of a party," Dad chuckled as he set the fruit down carefully and made his way over to us. As he drew closer I saw his gaze meet Mom's, and slowly his smile shrank until it was barely even there. He waited until he stood right at Mom's side before he spoke up again, "What's going on here, exactly?"

"Well met, sir," Yune stated, putting on that same smile she had worn when she first arrived, "My name is Yune, and my comrades here are Durban and Sulfur," She was quick with the introductions this time, and merely gestured to her comrades respectively as she stated their names.

"Right, I'm Uther," Dad responded with a curt nod. He then shifted his focus back to Mom, "So what've I missed?"

"Yune and her comrades here came to give us a warning...about some dark future that was coming to pass," Mom explained. Dad blinked in disbelief and chuckled awkwardly, as if he expected tha to be some sort of joke. When nobody else chuckled, though, he nodded slowly.

"This is a unique case, I'm afraid," Yune spoke once again to get everyone's attention back onto her, "With two Lucario here and a Riolu that could very well become one himself, we could very much use your aid. Lucario are naturally powerful fighters, and your aura reading abilities would prove incredibly useful to our cause,"

"So you want our help to stop this dark future, hm?" Dad asked. He glanced at me briefly before he shook his head, "Sorry, but we have a son to raise and a decent life here. We're not about to risk that for a few strangers and their tales,"

"I'm afraid I agree, completely," My Mom added, "Even if your tale is true we've just moved here. To travel with you would be to uproot our lives once again. We want our son to enjoy this home, to finish growing up in one place,"

I was relieved that neither of my parents seemed intent on not going. I didn't want to have to move again, let alone wind up facing those creepy ghost types and their strange eyes. Or even worse, the dead Pokemon that had come back to life.

Durban moved close to Yune and whispered something quietly. My ears could pick up on it...but my parents, they definitely did. Their body languages and stances changed instantly. My mother got to her feet and Dad tensed up a bit as Yune's expression darkened briefly. Upon seeing Mom stand up both Yune and myself did the same thing.

"Are you positive you cannot assist us?" Yune asked plainly, a weak smile gracing her features one last time. Dad took a step forward while Mom looked down at me and smiled.

"Yes, we're positive," Dad said firmly.

"Riolu...could you carry the fruit Dad brought to the top of the hill? I'd really appreciate it," I shook as Mom spoke. Her question was simple enough, innocent enough...but I didn't buy it. She wanted me to get away from them, from those three Pokemon, without outright stating it.

"I see. It's a shame, I'd have much preferred your assistance through life..." Yune held her left paw out to the side and closed her eyes. There was a brief spark of black light and, suddenly, a black and red object appeared in her paw. It radiated a faint black light, but I couldn't quite make out what that object was. "Still...one way or another, you will assist me. Know that this is for the good of the region. Know that you will not die in vain,"

When Yune extended her other paw towards my parents, however, she produced a completely different object. With a flash there was a strange, long object that looked like a thick stick in her right paw. However it almost looked like it was made of solid light, and had a pinkish-white glow. I had no idea what that object was but, unlike the black one before it, this one had a similar feeling to whenever my Mom or Dad used an attack.

So while I didn't know what it was, I knew what it meant.

I started to backpedal when Sulfur opened his beak-like mouth. Orange flames spewed forth and struck my Dad, prompting a loud cry from him that made my blood run cold. I screamed for my Dad but my Mom shoved me back. She gripped my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Run, son! Get as far away from here as you can!" She commanded with a loud voice, panic and worry clear in her eyes.

I wanted to, I really did. I wanted with every fiber of my being to get as far away from the area as possible. I wanted to go and hide behind a tree and wait for my Mom and Dad to get me when everything was okay.

But my body wouldn't move. My mind screamed at it to run but my legs wouldn't move.

At least, until I saw those orange flames shoot towards me this time. Mom stood up quickly and crossed her arms over her chests, screaming in pain as the flames engulfed her instead of me. I screamed once again, my heart thumping so hard it could have burst right out of my chest, and I finally found the strength to run.

I turned away from the scene and sprinted for the opposite end of our home. I shut my eyes as tight as I could, but the tears flowed through regardless. More screams filled the air and assaulted my ears, even though I brought my paws up to block the sounds out.

My feet got tangled up and, with a cry, I fell forward just before the treeline. I started to sob, fear and panic spreading through me like blood through my veins, and with shaking arms I pushed myself off the ground and onto my feet. I wanted to look backwards and see my Mom and Dad coming after me, smiling and okay. But my instincts screamed for me to just run, and not look back.

So I ran.

I ran through the treeline and farther than I'd ever gone for a game of hide and seek. I ran even as my lungs burned in protest and my legs began to feel like jelly. There was no concept of time while I ran, it all felt like both a minute and a day. All that mattered was that I kept running, no matter how much it pained me or how badly I wanted to stop and turn back.

Because, even then, I knew that there was not a thing to turn back to.


	6. Clash with Reality

I don't know how long I had run for, but by the time I had finally lost my breath and strength in my legs, the sun had begun to set. I panted from fatigue and slowed my run to a stop, placing a paw on a tree trunk to take some strain off of my legs, but I wound up just taking a seat instead.

My entire body shook to the point where taking a breath was a struggle. The tears in my eyes had dried and the fur on my cheeks had felt a bit matted and slightly damp as a result, but when I thought back onto what had happened, to what I had seen, my eyes started to water again. It wasn't just the image of Mom and Dad cloaked in that vicious fire...and it wasn't just the sound of their screams.

It was the harsh smell of burnt fur.

My throat constricted at the thought, and when it opened up I was once again panting. Mom and Dad...surely they would have gotten out. I just had to find them, let them know where I was so they could come to me. But it was too soon. If I called out for them those monsters would know where I was too, and they could find me. I needed to wait until it was safe to call for them.

I scooted backwards until my back was against the base of a tree trunk. I brought my legs in close and wrapped my arms around them, to try to give myself some form of comfort, and just stared straight ahead. The forest was eerily silent. Despite how far I had come from my territory I hadn't seen any other Pokemon around. No Bidoof going about their business, or Starly in the branches. Dead silence.

" _Those Pokemon may have got to them too,"_

A stray thought, one I quickly shoved to the back of my mind, along with many others. I couldn't afford to dwell on that thought, because as sad as it was, it didn't matter to me. Regardless of why the area was void of Pokemon I needed to stay put. I had already travelled so far from home, any further would make it less and less likely for me to actually find my parents.

Minutes went by as I diligently stared ahead, my ears alert for any sounds that slipped out. The sky darkened as the sun continued to set, and slowly but steadily my breathing relaxed. Everything would be okay, I just had to stay as calm as possible and wait. I just had to wait to call out for Mom and Dad, and everything would be fine...

* * *

I woke up with a start, my heart pounding away in my chest already. From left to right my eyes shot, only relaxing when I saw that I was alone. I couldn't remember the nightmare that had shook me from my slumber...and I didn't want to remember.

Didn't need to.

Tears began to fill my eyes as the gravity of my situation began to weigh upon me once again. There were trees and brushes around me, but they were not familiar. As for my parents...Mom and Dad...they were nowhere to be seen. It had been two days since I ran from my home, and they had still not come to find me yet.

When I had woken up from my first sleep without Mom and Dad I walked around and called for them. It must have been hours that I did this, and the only reason I stopped was because my throat had gone hoarse. I had to prioritize finding water to sate my thirst and soothe my throat. Once I found a stream I looked for berry bushes along it as well, for my stomach had been rumbling in protest to the lack of food.

Despite how long I had searched, however, my parents never came. They never answered my calls and they never found me. Whenever we played hide and seek they always found me no matter how hard I tried to hide. They always found me...so that meant...

" _..."_ A thought echoed in the back of my mind, but it was muffled before I could register it. It was a thought I just couldn't afford to think of yet, a reality I wasn't ready to face.

So instead I got up and wiped the tears from my eyes, dampening my paw a bit in the process. The morning was a cold one, colder than the days before it, but if I slept underneath the thick bushes and stayed near the trees I'd have shelter from the wind.

Not only did my parent never respond to my calls, but neither did any other Pokemon. The area was...quiet, almost deserted. It couldn't just be because of winter, could it?

Once again I had to fear if Yune actually did attack the other Pokemon in the area.

Even that morning there were fewer birds chirping than usual. The silence made me nervous, and that's what kept me moving at least a little bit everyday. Ever since I found the river I had stuck alongside it. There was no point in leaving a consistent water source, but the downside was that I had no idea where the stream led. Half me hoped it would lead me back to my home. The other half hoped it led the opposite direction.

There was always the risk that Yune had followed me and hunted me like prey. As much as I wanted to head back towards home, so long as there was a chance that she was in the area, I just couldn't afford to risk it.

I made my way towards the river, following my prior knowledge of it's location and the sound of rushing water to find it, and leaned over it to scoop some water into my mouth with my paw. The water was a little bit colder that day than it had been on the first day. Just another sign of the turning of the seasons.

Once I was done with the river I stood up and looked for the berry bushes near it's bank. I approached one with familiar pecha berries. They were on the sweet side but were also a bit larger than the equally common oran, so I'd satisfy my hunger swifter on them. I ravenously ate the berries, but even as I did so I knew I had to find a better source of food. The berries didn't satisfy my hunger for long and the bushes were not full to begin with.

My mind went to a few of the times I had gone searching for food with Dad. Typically he liked to collect fruit to have for dinner and only fruit. He'd tell me that our species was very durable and, in older times, we used to eat mineral from rocks, so we could eat just about anything and be well off. Still, fruit was familiar and it was safe, so I figured it would be best to just find a good source of that instead.

Usually when Dad found fruit it was in a tree. Apples were a good example. Dad would slam his paw into the tree and knock the lower hanging fruit down to the ground. For any of the higher ones he'd jump up and swipe them from the branches with his paw. I wasn't sure if I could get the height he did, but I maybe I could knock the lower hanging ones down.

So I left the berry bushes and wandered back into the forest proper. In my search for my parents I had been too preoccupied to really notice if there had been any fruit trees around. I knew what an apple tree in particular looked like, thankfully, so it likely wouldn't take me too long to recognize one.

Thankfully it didn't even take me too long to find one. In the midst of the forest, surrounded by other, taller tress, I managed to spot an apple tree. To my delight it still had quite a few apples on its branches. The red fruits looked extremely tantalizing and I could practically taste them already.

I approached the apple tree with slow steps as I truly questioned whether or not I could knock the fruit down. Dad said he'd focus a bit of energy into the pad of his paw before using it to strike the tree trunk, but not too hard at the risk of hurting himself. I'd seen him do it more than a few times but he never actually taught me how.

Yet as I stared up at those apples, which hung just out jumping reach, I felt like there was someone else around. I quickly looked around the area and saw no sign of any other Pokemon, same as before, but the feeling lingered. I'd never really had that feeling before so it made me nervous to knock the apples down. I hesitated in front of the tree and kept looking around.

Nobody.

I took a deep breath and tried to focus my energy into my paw. There was nobody around, I was all alone. I figured I needed to concentrate in order to make this trick work, but even as I focused for a minute I didn't feel a change in my paw. I closed my eyes and tried to shut out everything. No memories, no fears, just focus. Pure focus on my paw.

Finally I felt something. A spark of energy in my paw. I opened my eyes and looked at my right paw and, to my surprise, there was the faintest blue glow to it. It looked a lot like the glow Dad's paw would have, just his was brighter and stronger.

I shifted my right leg backwards and, with a quiet grunt, slammed my paw into the tree trunk. The tree definitely shook, if only just a bit, but even before any apples fell I immediately recoiled and held my paw. Pain had shot through my entire right arm to the point that it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

" _Well that's why Dad said not to strike it so hard,"_ I thought bitterly as I shot the tree a glare. The pain just made me want to hit the tree again, but that would only make things worse. I needed to calm down. When I looked around me I saw that two apples had fallen. I could carry more than two, though, so I wanted to make one more attempt at it.

Once again I focused intensely, just like last time. I tried to blank myself to any sounds and closed my eyes to the world around me. My entire mental focus was on my paw. Everything else was non-existent.

I felt the energy spark up again and opened my eyes, only to shriek in shock as they met another pair of red eyes. The eyes belonged to a black feathered bird with a crooked yellow beak and an angry frown. It was a Murkrow and, while I did not see them often, I had seen them once or twice and had my parents explain to me what it was. He flapped his wings lazily, probably to stay at eye level, and wasted no time in speaking to me.

"Ey! Just what do you think you're doing here, hah?" The Murkrow asked me loudly. My heart beat rapidly as I tried to form words to answer, an all-to familiar fear rising throughout my body.

"I-I...I'm just hungry, I w-wanted the apples and..." I tried to explain while simultaneously wondering where the Murkrow had come from. That odd feeling I had before, of another presence in the area. Had it it been this bird?

"And what, you're sorry?" The Murkrow cut in with a scoff. He flapped his wings harder twice, pushing himself slight above eye level now, "Well you should be, but I'm afraid it's too little too late. You see, winter's on it's way, hah? So the Matron's been cracking down on us to enforce her turf, and this here tree and those there apples are within her turf,"

The Matron? I had no idea what the Murkrow was talking about. Before I could even ask the Murkrow threw it's head back and cawed three times. Once he was finished I quickly cut in to try and explain my situation further, "N-no, you don't understand. I don't know who the Matron is, or even where I am! My...my par-"

"Aw just shut it!" The Murkrow spat, his tone so sharp it made me flinch, "You think we ain't dealt with thieves before? We've had plenty of them. Too many! That's why the Matron's wants us to deal with them!"

I heard something in the distance. It sounded a lot like flapping, and then I heard the caws. The Murkrow kept saying 'we' and 'us'...my eyes widened as I realized what was about to happen.

"Sorry kid...well, you know what? No, I ain't sorry! Too many thieves! We'll wind up starving through winter with your kind running around!" The Murkrow shrieked. I felt tears well up in my eyes, but fear didn't stop me from moving this time. I turned around and bolted for the trees. Murkrow flew and no doubt they could fly faster than I could run.

My only hope was to stay within the trees so they couldn't fly so freely.

That flapping sound grew louder and I had a chorus of enraged caws behind me. The Murkrow were giving chase even through the trees and, despite my plan, it sounded as if they were slowly gaining on me.

"P-please! I'm sorry!" Tears streamed freely down my face as I cried out to the Murkrow. I never meant any trouble, I was just so hungry! I didn't know I had walked into someone else's territory! I didn't know I was stealing! Yet all they same they wanted to chase me down and hurt me...or worse.

" _I'd wind up like-"_ My mind cut out the thought. My ears rang and I closed my eyes. I hated this. I didn't want a fight, I didn't want to be alone, I didn't want to be lost. The whole situation was out of my control and I didn't know what to do about it. I was so scared, I was sad, but beneath it all...I was angry. I was angrier than I'd ever been. Yet all the same I couldn't do anything about it. I had to keep running and hope the Murkrow would give up the chase.

I opened my eyes and my heart sank. I had just stepped out of the thick of the forest and into a clearing. If I turned back to the trees the Murkrow would catch me for sure, but if I kept going through the clearing it would only be a matter of time before they caught up to me.

Still, even though my chest felt as though it was ablaze, I kept sprinting. The clearing opened up to a hill that sloped down and so I did my best to run down the hill. However I was going to fast, and after a few steps down I tripped and fell into a tumble. I cried out in pain as I bounced and rolled down the hill, my mind flooded with a sense of disorientation.

I hit the bottom of the hill with a groan of pain and shook my head. My ears were ringing once again, but beneath it I could barely make it the caws of the Murkrow. I looked over my shoulder and nearly broke down into a complete fit. The Murkrow had followed, five of them, and they were so close.

I pushed myself onto my feet, against the protests of my entire body, and made a quick run for the other side of the clearing. There was another line of trees in sight! I had to make it to them and I had to enter them! Maybe if I found a thick bush I could hide in it and wait the Murkrow out. Maybe...

" _Maybe I won't make it,"_ A harsh reality set in again. My legs felt like jellow, and I felt like I had no energy left. Between the lack of proper meals and proper sleep I just didn't have the strength to keep running like I had three days ago. My sprint slowed into a jog against my will, and I nearly collapsed when I finally reached a tree.

I fell to a knee and panted in fatigue. The caws were growing louder again. It was only a matter of time before I...I...

" _..."_ Another thought shut down before it could be recognized.

I squeezed my eyes shut in both fear, sorrow, and rage. I couldn't do anything, but I refused to watch the Murkrow come to me. Even as their caws grew louder and louder I just kept my eyes shut and waited, too tired to even curl into a ball and hope. I squeezed my eyes so tight that my vision went white, not black. It was as if my eyes were filled with some white light, while I waited for the inevitable.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

The inevitable never came.

With reluctance I opened my eyes and saw the grass beneath me. When I turned my head to look over my shoulder I was met with the back of a white furred Pokemon. It stood between me and the Murkrow, so it must have stopped them somehow.

"Hey now...that's no way to be treating a lad, is it?" The white furred Pokemon asked. I couldn't see it's face, but it's voice was so different from the Murkrow that I assumed it was his. The voice was masculine but not as deep as Dad's, and his words had a sort of twang to them. I had never heard anything like it before.

I turned around onto my rear and sat down, still panting from my run. I didn't dare move a muscle and instead decided to watch. There was a small chance this white Pokemon was on my side.

"Listen here Zangoose!" The Murkrow that had started all spoke up, his tone still sharp with anger, "That there lad tried to thieve from the Matron! Claimed he didn't know her...hah! Everyone 'round here knows the Matron, and everyone knows the punishment for stealing from her!"

"Is that so..." The Pokemon, a Zangoose apparently, answered, moving his arm in front of his body to make some sort of gesture. My eyes widened as I then noticed that he only had one arm, his right one. The left was completely missing, unless his species naturally only had one arm.

"Yeah it's so. You don't wanna cross the Matron too, do you?"

"Well to be perfectly honest...I don't know who the Matron is either!" The Zangoose replied with a chuckle. The Murkrow all guffawed at this, and I almost wanted to shout out at them for it. He didn't know who the Matron was either, so I clearly wasn't lying.

"This is just getting ridiculous...look, Zangoose, you can move out the way and we won't bother with ya, whether or not ya know the Matron..." Another Murkrow had spoken up this time, "But so help you Yveltal if you side with that thief, you understand?"

"Sadly, I do," The Zangoose replied before he turned to face me. For the first time I saw the Zangoose' face. To my surprise he wore a small smile and there was a wry light in his pink eyes. It was a soft light, reassuring.

"Listen, lad. I want you to be honest with me..." He trailed off and, after a moment, I realized he wanted to see that I understood. I nodded and he continued, "Did you steal from the Murkrow?"

"N-not knowingly! I was...I'm just so hungry! I saw some apples and no one was around so I figured I could take a few..." I explained, my tone as pleading as possible to try and sound sincere. It was the honest truth but even so the Murkrow didn't seem to care. The Zangoose, however, held eye contact with me for a small moment before giving me a small nod.

"I see," He then knelt down to my level and made eye contact once again. I flinched, slightly, but didn't look away, "Now I'm going to ask you to do something crazy, and that's to trust me. Close your eyes lad, and count to ten. Don't open them, no matter what you hear, and I promise you that everything's going to be all right,"

The request shocked me. Why did he want me to close my eyes? The only time I had ever been told to do that was if Mom and Dad had some sort of a gift for me and they wanted to surprise me with it. Usually it was a peach, my favourite fruit, but that was different. If I closed my eyes I wouldn't be able to see him or the Murkrow.

"How can I trust you?" I asked the Zangoose.

"You don't know, lad," He replied as he stood up once again, "I'd just much rather prefer you do, and I think you honestly would prefer it as well,"

His words sounded honest, but it was just too risky. The Murkrow were still right at his back, I could see a couple of them and the others were blocked by the Zangoose' body. I thought on it for some time...until finally I nodded.

"Okay,"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. There hadn't been any real logic behind why I decided to trust the Zangoose. Maybe it was desparation? It could have been acceptance. Above all, though, the closest answer had to be hope.

"All right, mates...unfortunately I just made this lad a promise," I heard the Zangoose say to the Murkrow, "Now what sort of male would I be if I didn't keep a promise to a kit?"


	7. Twist of a Knife

**Hi there! Now, this is a bit of a random note, but last chapter was a pretty big personal milestone. It marks the first time in...at least three years that I got a story past it's fifth chapter without discontinuing it!**

 **Yay!**

 **That said, I do not ever plan on discontinuing this story. It's too personal, too refined, and has taken up too much time spent thinking about it.**

 **I am sorry that I can't be pumping out updates with greater consistency. I tend to get at least one chapter a week, but not always within 7 exact days, and I wish it could be more. However my social life, work schedule, and upcoming plans for schooling do affect my freedom to sit down and focus 100% on the chapter. I don't want to update a chapter that I haven't put 100% into, because I won't improve unless I do that.**

 **Doesn't help with FF goes down for like, 24 hours, but oh well XP.**

 **So, with that off my chest, onward we go**

* * *

" _One...two...three..."_ Many sounds filled my ears as I counted in my head. I could hear the rampant flaps of Murkrow wings, their fierce caws, and the sound of rushing air.

" _Four...five...six..."_ Despite my overwhelming curiosity I kept my eyes shut and counted on. My breaths were sharp with nerves, and my whole body shook with uncertainty. So many thoughts, worries, and fears coursed through my mind that the counting was difficult to focus on. But somehow I managed to do it.

"Wh-what the hell?!" A shocked voice shrieked. It had to be one of the Murkrow, as it wasn't the Zangoose's voice. That sound of rushed air grew louder still, but then there was silence.

" _Seven...eight...nine..t-"_

"W-wait, wait damn it! We give!" The voice of the Murkrow leader pleaded. I opened my eyes at least and saw that the Zangoose stood a few feet in front of me, further than when I had closed my eyes. He seemed completely unharmed. Even his breathing was regular.

The Murkrow, on the other hand, all looked like they had just been caught in a storm. Their feathers were ruffled and their wings beat furiously to stay airborne. Each of their beaks were open, as if they were panting, and they looked to one another in surprise.

The leader's face was scrunched in anger yet he kept his distance from the Zangoose as well. He then gave a caw to the other Murkrow before he spoke up again, "The Matron's gonna hear about this, Zangoose! I swear it!"

"Good. She sounds like a lovely lady!" The Zangoose called back with a cheery tone. I couldn't see his face but I could imagine the smirk or smile on his face even then, "Can't wait to meet her!"

One last curse shot forth from the Murkrow's beak before they all turned and flew off in the distance, all while they continued to sound off their caws of protest and anger.

I was speechless. It looked like the Zangoose had hardly moved, let alone actually do anything to frighten the Murkrow into retreat. Even though the situation remained uncertain I felt a wave of relief wash over my body, and I took a deep breath for the first time in minutes. I hadn't held my breath the entire time but the intensity of the situation made it feel like I had.

The Zangoose turned to face me and, sure enough, he wore a smile on his face. It was just as I thought.

"You all right there lad?" He asked. I simply nodded and studied the Pokemon. He was the uncertainty that remained. Sure, he had just helped me. In fact he had just saved my life. But there was no guarantee that he was on my side. In fact he could have been a predator that had acted to protect his prey: me.

"I know that situation may have been a little startling, but you should be fine now," He said with a light chuckle. His gaze shifted from me to the trees behind me for a moment before he called out, "You can come out now, Celsius,"

I tensed for a moment before I turned and looked back. Behind me another white furred Pokemon appeared, but it walked on all fours as opposed to two legs like the Zangoose. It's entire body was white except for its face, claws, tail and a single horn on its head, which were all black. As the Pokemon studied me slowly I realized that it was not fully grown, which probably meant it wasn't a "baby Pokemon" like I was but was young all the same.

The Pokemon stayed silent even as it studied me, which only served to unnerve me a bit more, but the Zangoose chuckled and got my attention once again.

"Don't mind him lad, that's just Celsius," The Zangoose stated, "He's my travelling companion, a protege if you will. I didn't think he needed to get involved in that scuffle so I had him sit it out,"

The Zangoose paused before he gave me a bright smile and held his paw out to me. It was then that I saw two long, sharp claws that were folded against his arm, "I just realized I've yet to introduce myself. The name is Swipes, lad, and what's yours?"

I looked at Swipes' paw for a few moments before taking it with my own. He pulled lightly and helped me get to my feet before I replied, "Riolu...just Riolu. I don't have a name yet,"

Swipes blinked at my response, which was more or less the usual reaction, before he spoke up again, "Really? You don't seem _that_ young. Do you have to make some rite of passage before you get your name?"

I didn't exactly know what a rite of passage was, but I knew it had nothing to do with my name, so I just shook my head. The subject of my name had turned my mind to my parents once again. I still had no idea where they were or if they were all right. Whenever I thought about them for too long my head started to hurt a bit, but with my name brought up it was hard not to think about that.

"Are you sure you're all right?" A soft voice asked. I looked back at the Pokemon known as Celsius and saw that he now eyed me with some concern.

I still wasn't sure that I could trust these Pokemon, but I didn't have many options either. Aside from the Murkrow they had been the only Pokemon I'd seen since the incident. So while a part of me wanted to keep them out of it, I just knew that I had to tell them and see if they could help.

"Not really, no," I answered Celsius. I turned my gaze up to Swipes and continued, "My parents, they...three days ago my home got attacked by these Pokemon. My parents told me to run and I did, now I don't know where I am or where my home is, and I haven't seen my parents since,"

Swipes smile faded a bit and he knelt down to my level once again, "Do you know what direction you came from?"

I thought about where the river was and knew that I had come from the opposite direction, so I pointed there and Swipes followed my paw, "East, then...and what does your home look like?"

"It's a grassy field with a hill in the middle," I explained with a bit of hope. Would these Pokemon actually help me find my home? I didn't want to depend too much on the idea that someone would help me, especially with how few Pokemon there seemed to be in the area. Yet as I stood there I found myself holding onto that hope once again.

Swipes shot Celsius a look before he stood up straight once again, "Well...Riolu, if you're not opposed to it, we'd love to help you find your way back home,"

My eyes widened and I even felt a small smile tug at my lips. It had been like some sort of dream come true, "You will? Thank you...thank you so much,"

"Of course lad, it's no problem," Swipes replied before he began to walk East. I followed him and Celsius walked alongside me.

The first few minutes of the walk were silent, completely silent, as my mind had focused on the possibility of finding my parents. So long as they were safe then the past three days would have been worth it.

"Riolu?" Swipes asked me and snapped me from my thoughts. I looked up at him but realized that, as he was walking forward, he couldn't see me, and replied with a quick hum, "You wouldn't mind if I asked you a few questions about this attack, would you?"

My heart sank a bit but I tried not to let it show. It made perfect sense that he would want to know what happened, especially since we were headed to the site of the attack. I had hoped that I managed to avoid talking about the details of the incident when they so readily agreed to help, but it would be wrong to deny them the answers.

"Yeah, you can ask me," I replied. I noticed that Celsius' gaze was on me but he remained silent. If he was around my age then he probably just let Swipes do most of the talking whenever it was something serious. I had been much the same with my own parents, so I didn't think much on it.

"Okay, thank you," Swipes started, "Do you know what species the Pokemon that attacked your home was? It wasn't those Murkrow from before, right?"

I had never gotten the species names of either of the three Pokemon, just their actual names. With some reluctance I thought on the physical appearances of the three to come up with some way of describing them, but before long I gave up.

"I never found out their species names," I answered, "But I did get their real names, if that helps,"

"You got their real names?" Swipes asked with obvious confusion. Couldn't blame him. How many attackers introduced themselves and shared their life story? "Well...I suppose it could help. Go on then,"

"The leader of the group was Yune, and the..." I trailed off when Swipes stopped walking. He didn't look back, but he stood perfectly still and silent. I looked over to Celsius in confusion and saw that his red eyes were open wide. Their reactions started to make me nervous. "Uh...Swipes?"

"Huh? Oh...sorry lad," Swipes said, his voice quieter than it had been before, "That name is just familiar to me, is all,"

Even then I knew that there was more to it than that. Had he known Yune? Perhaps been attacked by her as well? My gaze settled on the Zangoose' missing arm for a moment before I continued, "Right...well her name was Yune, and she had two Pokemon with her. One was named Durban and the other Sulfur,"

Swipes nodded and resumed walking, "Could you describe their species at all? What they looked like, or anything?"

"Er...Yune was tall, maybe taller than you, and she didn't have any fur. Her skin was beige or gray," Something clicked as I thought about the Pokemon, "She said that she was a 'Meditite' when she was younger,"

"Ah, so she is a Medicham," Swipes responded. Medicham must have been the evolution to Meditite, then, "So the others were probably a round, purplish Pokemon and a fire type, right?"

I blinked in surprise. So Swipes did know of Yune and her group. I didn't know what to think of that information and instead simply nodded and grunted to confirm his suspicions.

"Probably a Gastly and a Magmar, respectively," Celsius spoke up this time. I looked at him again but his expression was still set, his gaze fixed forward. Aside from when he asked if I was all right he never looked at me, or even at Swipes. He just kept his eyes forward.

"Aye, lad," Swipes replied, "In that case we do know of who attacked your home. They have done something similar in the past,"

Before I could really reply to that Swipes looked back at me and shot me a smile, "Let's not worry too much on that though, right? We gotta focus on finding your home first. Does anything around look familiar to you?"

I furrowed my brow and looked left to right. The forest around us had no true distinction that I could take note of. The trees and bushes all looked about the same, so I couldn't tell if we had gotten closer to my home or not. I did think we were headed in the right direction, though.

"No...sorry, I don't recognize anything,"

"It's all right lad, we'll find it yet," Swipes replied, his tone light once again. How could he be that positive? In fact...

"Why are you helping me?"

Once again the Zangoose stopped, but this time he turned around fully and looked me in the eye. He studied my expression a bit and I tensed, a bit unnerved by the sudden change in behaviour.

"Do I really need a reason for helping you, lad?" He asked. There was a pause, and I realized I was supposed to produce an answer, but nothing came to mind. Thankfully Swipes continued, "I can tell you could use my help, and if you want it then why shouldn't I?"

" _Oh, that? Well of course I helped him. It's always good to help out your fellow Pokemon in any way you can,"_

 _Mom..._

"Anyway...believe it or not that's what drives me to help you," Swipes stated with a small grin, "So let's keep..." And that grin faded. He sniffed at the air a bit and looked around, which prompted myself and Celsius to do the same. I picked up on an odd but vaguely familiar scent. The smell of burnt grass and earth.

We were close.

"Follow that scent," I stated to Swipes. The Zangoose nodded and resumed his march once again, Celsius and I at his heels.

That scent had been at my back when I first fled from my home, only really strong enough to remember whenever the wind was at my back as well. It was a smokey smell but not completely abhorrent. Unless even more forest had been set ablaze by Sulfur then this had to be close to my home.

My eyes scanned the area as we walked, even more so when the scent's strength grew. They widened as we passed a tree whose trunk had been burned on one half. It was entirely blackened and looked cracked, and it served as a strange border of where the fire had stopped. Beyond that tree lay a depressing sight of blackened branches and scorched earth.

What grass remained was completely black and wilted, and the soil beneath it shared that colouration and was cracked. The bushes that likely would have been familiar no longer had their foliage. The branches beneath were, like everything else, burned black. The occasional razed leaf fell from a branch as little more than ash, and the scent was powerful in the area but had dulled with time.

There was no doubt in my mind that this had been the area that surrounded my home, which meant we just had to find a clearing with a hill in it.

"Jirachi above..." Swipes spoke with a soft but shocked tone. His walk's pace had slowed and he gazed around at the area. The devastation had caught him even more off-guard than myself. Perhaps I'd just been expecting this. After all I had seen the glow of the flames for hours after I had run. There was now way that fire had could have been perfectly contained to my clearing.

Still, I wanted to snap Swipes out of his daze. We had to be close and that knowledge only made me more anxious, so I spoke up.

"We have to look for a clearing beyond these trees," I said, "A clearing with a hill in the middle,"

"Right..." Swipes mumbled. He shook his head from side to side before he cast me a glance, "Can you recognize the area at all?"

I surveyed the devastation once more and gave a nod before I replied, "Barely...but yeah, the layout seems familiar,"

"Lead on then, lad," With that I stepped in front of Swipes and kept walking. The charred grass crunched beneath my feet, but only once every few steps. Between each patch of grass was barren soil, upon which my steps were quiet.

As I continued to study the area I recognized it more and more. I had begun to approach the farthest limits I had been allowed to use during the games of hide and seek my parents and I would play. If I imagined the forest as it had been, rather than as it was then, it became easier to navigate.

It only took me a few moments to see the line of trees thin out, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

"There it is!" I called out before I broke into a short sprint. I darted across the burned ground and broke through the tree line, my sprint slowing to a halt almost as quickly as it had began.

I don't know what I had expected, but somehow I still hadn't expected the sight that lay before me.

Unlike the forest around us, my clearing had absolutely no grass remaining. There wasn't a single blade of green or black, merely black and dark brown earth. From the base of the hill to it's peak I saw nothing but black and brown. The burnt scent was so strong that it had become more like a stench, the kind your nose just couldn't adjust to.

Still, even among the shock of that barren clearing, I clung onto a bit of hope. I cupped my paws around my mouth and called out, "Mom! Dad!"

I could hear Swipes and Celsius approach me from behind, but my focus was in front of me. After a few seconds of receiving no response I started to walk slowly and brought my paws to my mouth once again, "Mom! Dad!"

No response, again. My heart fluttered with unease and I felt my stomach start to knot. If they weren't here then where were they? Had they gone searching for me on the other side of the forest?

I glanced at Swipes and Celsius and saw that they had sort of split up. Celsius was still sort of close to me but had begun to examine a different part of the area that I faced, while Swipes wandered further away.

"Mom! Dad! Where are you?!"

Nothing, again. The feeling of defeat grew stronger within me but my heart's pace quickened once again, as if to beat that emotion back. Maybe they were asleep in the area, and they were too tired to answer? I started to look around my barren home as well. It wasn't that large, so it wouldn't take me long to find my parents.

I heard the soft pads of footsteps behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Celsius. His expression was softer than usual, and instead of it's normally blank state it looked almost...concerned? Either way I wanted him to split up and look for my parents.

"Hey...uh...could you look over there?" With a paw I pointed to the far corner of the clearing, "Maybe my parents are closer to the treeline on that side. I'll keep looking over..." I trailed off as my gaze was drawn to Swipes. He had walked around the hill, so I could only see the top half of his body.

He had stopped moving.

"Oh, Swipes! Have you found something?" I asked eagerly as I jogged over to him. His head snapped towards me and on his face was an expression of pure shock.

"Celsius, don't let him near!" He called out suddenly. I nearly halted my jog in shock at the command, and quickly looked back at Celsius and saw that he seemed just as confused as I did. His eyes darkened with realization after a few moments, but before he could move I sped my jog up into a sprint, "Damn it, lad! Trust me, you don't want to see it!"

I reached Swipes side in seconds, and I felt like my heart stopped completely.

Before Swipes were two piles of what looked like sticks. Some were long while others were short, but they had been blackened from fire, even moreso than the area around them. However, along their lengths I could make out a reflective gleam. I had never seen anything quite like them before.

But, as my vision clouded with tears, it became abundantly clear that I knew exactly what they were. And I knew what they meant.

"Lad...I'm so sorry," My knees gave way as I heard Swipes voice, now soft with sorrow, and my breaths hitched in my throat. I wanted to speak, to say something, but I couldn't get a word through the sobs that followed.

All those thoughts, those realizations that had plagued and haunted me over the past couple of days flooded my mind once again. Only this time there I couldn't repress them. I couldn't shut it out. Instead my entire body shook as they echoed throughout my mind over and over again. Each of their messages were worded differently, but they were just one voice, and each message shared but one meaning.

" _Dead. My parents are dead,"_


	8. Grudging Acceptance

I had cried for so long that it felt like an hour had passed before my sobs died down. Swipes had begun to gently rub my back with his paw, but he remained silent. Celsius was off to the side as well and he, too, remained silent. Soon enough my sobbing did slow to a stop, but it wasn't because I had gotten over what I witnessed. It was more that I had nothing left in me. As if all of my tears had been shed, and there were none to keep them flowing.

"Lad..." Swipes started softly, hesitation clear in his voice, "I know this is hard, but we need to get out of here. Somewhere with fresh air,"

He was right. It hadn't been so bad, at first, but the air in the clearing was rather sickening and difficult to breathe. That burnt stench permeated far too potently and with so much of the greenery scorched to ashes the air quality was significantly worse than the forest that surrounded the clearing. After all the sobbing I had done with only that bad air to fuel it I felt my chest heaving more than it should have been.

Yet, even though he was right, all I could do was stare at the remains. Their remains. All this time it had felt like some sort of long, never ending nightmare. From Yune's appearance straight to the last two days. Of course now I knew that it was my reality. I had to face it, and yet...

"Lad?"

I tore my gaze away from the charred earth and met Swipes' eyes. There was concern in them, even a bit of sadness. I could feel it emanate from him. He didn't want to leave for just his sake but mine as well.

I didn't want to leave, but I didn't have it in me to protest.

"Yeah..." I managed to croak out, my voice a bit hoarse from the sobbing. I wiped my irritated eyes with a paw and slowly stood up, "I-I'm ready. Let's go,"

* * *

Getting to sleep that day had been nightmarish, nigh impossible. Even after we left the area, that horrible burnt smell remained so potent in my nostrils. To make matters worse the sight of my parents' remains awaited me for every time I closed my eyes.

Swipes had suggested an early night once we got away from the burned area of the forest, and I really did try to fall asleep early. But every time I closed my eyes that horror was all I could see. I'd have to open my eyes before long and look around for a few moments before I could work up the courage to try again. As such I hadn't gotten the best sleep, at all.

I woke up to the sound of paws scraping against the ground. When I blinked my eyes open and forced myself up I saw that Swipes and Celsius were having a mock battle a few feet before me. Celsius lunged numerous times at Swipes, but the taller Pokemon simply side-stepped those attacks with relative ease. Despite that Swipes wore a smile on his face.

"That's it lad, keep at it," he encouraged after he hopped back from another lunge. It...confused me. Celsius never really came close to striking Swipes, and efforts slowed a bit with each attempt he made. What was the goal supposed to be?

My...my parents had never really taught me too much about battle. That was supposed to come when I was named. A tradition from their native home, they had told me. But what did that matter now?

I shook those thoughts from my head and focused on the scene before me. It was hard to move on from what I had witnessed, from my new reality, but it was even harder to stay focused on it. This odd training that Celsius and Swipes were attempting was a welcome distraction from it.

"All right, enough on the lunges." Swipes finally said after he dodged one last attempt from Celsius. The young Absol was breathing harder and his eyes stayed focused on Swipes. "Now try to dodge or parry the my attacks towards you, all right?"

Celsius nodded, but immediately grunted in shock as he narrowly evaded a swing from Swipes' arm. Unlike when Swipes was on the defensive Celsius struggled greatly just to avoid the attacks. His movements didn't have the same sort of grace and thought put into them as Swipes' had. It was more like he scrambled in the heat of the moment.

Slowly but surely Swipes pressured Celsius backwards until the Absol made an improper step and took a blow to the shoulder. It hadn't been that hard of a swing from the looks of it, but Celsius flinched nevertheless. He panted with extreme fatigue this time while Swipes merely clicked his tongue.

"These are just the fundamentals, lad. Offensive and defensive movement. This exercise also strengthens your legs and core," At first I thought Swipes had referred to me, as he had called me lad since he met me, but it became clear he was completely focused on Celsius, "You'll get there soon. You have to be aware of your surroundings and plan your movements ahead. There is more than one way to lose a fight than simply being outmatched by your opponent. If you so much as trip over a bump in the ground that could cost you the fight."

Celsius continued to pant as he nodded, then briefly glanced at me. It seemed he finally noticed that I had woken up.

Swipes followed his gaze briefly before he gave the Absol a smile, "All right lad, go grab a drink. We'll work more later today,"

"All right...thank you," Celsius replied between breaths before he turned and walked away. The small clearing we had spent the night in didn't have a water source, but it was close to that long river I had followed during my two days alone. No doubt Celsius was headed there.

"How'd you sleep?" Swipes' voice snapped me from my thoughts. I looked up and saw the one-armed Zangoose approach me with a small smile. He was in good spirits. Couldn't say the same for myself.

"Poorly," I replied simply, "But I managed to get to sleep in the end,"

"I see...that's good, at least. You needed the rest," Swipes answered, that small smile still present on his lips. I just nodded in reply before I shifted my glance away. It wasn't that I was mad at Swipes, I just had too much on my mind still. Their distraction was over and those thoughts about my parents came back in full force.

"I meant to ask you this...and I admit it's a touch awkward," Once again I brought my eyes back up to Swipes as he spoke. He scratched the back of his head a bit sheepishly before he continued. "Well, not awkward, per se. Just...do you have any relatives? Grand-folk? Uncles or aunts?"

I blinked at his question. It had never occurred to me that seeking out other relatives was the next course of action. It definitely made sense, but there was a reason I hadn't thought of it before.

"I never really knew my other relatives," I replied honestly. "To be fair I can hardly remember them. My p-parents..." Damn it. It frustrated me that just talking about them made me choke up, but not enough to shake the sorrow. "Sorry...my parents came from the Iron Islands, way out East I think. They had me on the mainland but the rest of my family would be out there. If I ever saw them it was when I was a newborn, so I don't remember anything about them."

Swipes nodded as I spoke and tapped his chin with a claw as I finished. "Uh huh. I thought something like that might be the case..." He then gave me another smile. "In that case, I wanted to give you a full blown invitation to come with us. We'd love to have you around."

I stared at Swipes, and thought about what an idiot I'd been. He just now offered me an invitation, but I hadn't even thought about where I would stay or who with. Ever since I found those remains that was all that consumed my mind. At least when I was on the run I kept thinking ahead, about the future, as best I could.

Now I all I could do was mope about the past. It was a fresh memory, fresh pain, but what sort of excuse was that?

"I..." I didn't know what to say. The answer was obvious to me, but to actually say it was a different story. Swipes had already done so much for me that it almost felt wrong to stick with him for even longer. But what other choice did I have?

"You don't have to make a permanent decision now," Swipes added in, "Think on it for a few days. Though I will say we're headed back out East starting tomorrow, so be ready to travel at least a couple of days in that direction."

"Why East?"

"Hmm? Oh, right, you wouldn't know," Swipes replied with a chuckle. "Never really got around to telling you. We've got some business out by Eterna Forest. You know where that is?"

Eterna Forest...why did that sound familiar? That was the place Mom had told Draco the Yanma to go to, right?

"I don't know. What's the business?" I asked, a little bit curious now.

Swipes hummed and tapped his chin with one of his claws. "Uh, hmm...it's a really hard story to explain, but I guess you should hear it."

The Zangoose sat down in front of me and cleared his throat, making it clear that this would be a bit of a longer story. "Do you know anything about Absol? Celsius' species?"

I shook my head right away. I didn't know anything about them at all, in fact Celsius was the first one I had ever seen. Their typing, if they evolved from or into anything. I had no clue about any of that.

"Okay. Well Absol are an interesting species. They're born with the ability to predict natural disasters. Tornadoes, earthquakes, stuff like that," Swipes explained, "Celsius is a bit unique among Absol, however. He doesn't just sense disasters, but 'events as well. Things like two important Pokemon getting into a fight, or a large scale territory battle breaking out."

I nodded slowly as Swipes hesitated slightly. He shifted a bit in his seat before he continued, "He even sensed you, back when we were in Eterna Forest."

My eyes widened a bit. He sensed me? How did he managed...

"Mom and Dad..." I muttered as the realization dawned upon me. Swipes nodded solemnly.

"We tried to get to you as soon as we could lad, but we were in Eterna, and Celsius' visions are never clear enough. He sees these events as riddles to puzzle together. Not sure if the raw truth is just too hard for him to handle so his mind distorts it, or if he genuinely just sees these riddles, but that's how it is." Swipes explained, his voice and expression sincere.

"Once you brought us to the clearing I knew you were the one Celsius had seen in his vision. I'm so sorry about your parents, lad, but words can't express how happy I am that we at least saved you."

At least that explained Swipes' timing with the Murkrow. So Celsius had actually sensed what was going to happen? Just thinking about that made me a little bitter. I couldn't help but think if they had been closer that everything could have been prevented.

But, again, what did it matter? I already owed them for saving me, and Mom and Dad were dead. That fact would never change.

"Anyway..." Swipes started again after a brief pause, "Before Celsius sensed your event he had sensed another in Eterna Forest for several days. It's a trickier riddle than usual and it hadn't come to pass by the time we left to find you, so we want to head back to see if we can still prevent the worst from happening."

So that's what they did? They travelled to region and tried to use Celsius' ability to help other people? It was...really cool, actually. A very noble goal to say the least.

"That's our reason for heading out that way. Sooner the better, too, what with winter coming along and all." Swipes finished with a chuckle.

"From what I've heard winter itself is far away, but the winter weather is expected to hit long before the actual season changes." I replied, thinking back on something my parents had said a few weeks back. "So yeah...sooner the better,"

I had to make up my mind, and fast. Surviving on my own had been tricky enough now, but it would be nigh on impossible during winter. Food was scarce and shelter was heavily contested. Mom and Dad said they had found an actual den near the clearing to withdraw into when the snow began to fall, but they had never shown it to me. No doubt another Pokemon would snatch it up as soon as they could.

If I travelled with Swipes and Celsius those worries wouldn't be so dire. But I was still hesitant.

My gaze shot towards Celsius as he entered the area once again. His fur seemed damp, with water this time and not sweat, and he looked between Swipes and I with a curious gaze. He still didn't say a word.

"Ah, welcome back Celsius," Swipes explained with a large smile, "I was just explaining to the lad here about our situation. With Eterna Forest and all."

Celsius nodded and looked at me curiously, finally saying something for the first time since I had woken up; "And? Are you going to join us?"

I bit my lip at the question and looked down at the ground. The answer seemed so obvious, so why was I so uncomfortable agreeing with it?

"I'm not sure yet." I answered quietly.

"It's all right. I told him he could tag along with us for a day or two before answering. We're not going to be out of this forest for at least that..." He stopped talking as his ears twitched. I looked up at Swipes as he got to his feet and turned his gaze towards the sky behind me.

That's when I heard it. That damned flapping sound.

When I turned around and saw the silhouettes of those familiar black bird Pokemon my heart rate doubled. There was at least triple the number of Murkrow that had chased me yesterday...no, far, far more than that.

"Lads, close to me." Swipes stated sternly. Both Celsius and I were quick to listen and flocked to his sides. I couldn't take my eyes of the birds as they slowly approached, and I lost count of their numbers after twenty. It looked like all the Murkrow flew around one particularly large Murkrow.

But as the flock approached I could tell that the middle bird was not, in fact, a Murkrow. It looked a little bit similar but different all the same. Was it an evolution?

The air was filled with the sound of their wings flapping away and their blasted caws, and once the Murkrow were finally upon us they circled the air above our heads. They continued to caw away and fly circles around us until the larger bird Pokemon landed a few feet in front of us, then they flocked to her side and quieted down almost immediately.

"...Ah, well then, you must be the Matron." Swipes stated with a quiet chuckle. The larger bird Pokemon gave a curt nod, and I studied her as I finally had a better view of her. Unlike the Murkrow her chest was covered in a thick layer of white feathers. Her beak was more narrow and less crooked than that of a Murkrow's as well, and she had white markings beneath both of her eyes.

"I am. At least that is what my flock and my patrons call me," The bird Pokemon replied, confirming my initial thoughts that she was a female. Her voice was firm and strong, but not angry.

"And you must be the pesky Zangoose that ruffled up a few of my Murkrow the other day..." Her golden eyes flicked to me and I flinched under her gaze, "Which must mean you're the Riolu who stole from my territory."

* * *

 **Gah, sorry about the long break between Chapter 7 and now. But my word...for the shortest chapter so far it was, by far, the hardest to write.**

 **Anyway, just want to let you know that I didn't die or give up on this story or anything like that. This chapter was just more difficult than all of the other ones, that's all.**


	9. The Matron's Stone

**Swipes**

When I told the Murkrow to give their Matron my regards, it was meant as a bit of a taunt. That much I won't deny. I had figured that their Matron would have more important things to deal with than to hunt down the lads and I. Things like preparing for the coming winter, or just enjoying an evening flight with her flock.

I never expected to eat my words so quickly.

She stood before us with a calm, even gaze and a commanding air about her. The Murkrow that flocked around her stood in silence and didn't even so much as snicker or chuckle. For all the attitude they had shown me the day before I expected jeers and taunts from them. Yet it seemed her presence really had that powerful of an effect them.

The Matron in question had her gazed fixed on Riolu, the poor lad shrinking beneath it. He likely had never seen a Honchkrow and, considering his bad experience with the Murkrow on top of everything else he had been through, nobody could blame him for being so skittish.

Yet somehow I had my doubts that it was him, and him alone, that brought her to us. Why would she need so much back-up just for a Riolu and his two comrades? The Murkrow hadn't even seen Celsius, so all they knew was that a goofy one-armed Zangoose had managed to scare them off with some flashy moves.

What I had used to batter and confuse the Murkrow was a weak Razor Wind. I didn't add my claws into the attack, but whenever a fight seemed imminent a common strategy I employed was to passively charge a Razor Wind and let it loose at the start of a fight. Unexperienced fighters were never prepared for it, and the disorientation the attack causes alone was often enough to secure a swift victory. The Murkrow had been no different.

Though I could tell, from the sharpness of the Matron's eyes, that such a tactic would never work against her. That only made it more apparent that a fight was something I could not afford. I couldn't protect the lads and fight off a whole flock at the same time.

But all of those thoughts rushed through my mind in mere seconds. The moment my path became clear to me I spoke up.

"Well, Matron..." I cut in, keeping my tone relaxed and light, "Glad to see you were kind enough to join us!"

The Honchkrow's gaze flicked from Riolu to me. Good, that's what I had wanted. Riolu didn't need to be leered at by this bird any longer than that.

"Most in these parts are not so grateful for my visits, Swipes."

Immediately my mind raced. Had I told any of the Murkrow my name? No, I definitely didn't. So how...

"It's not just you, Swipes," The Matron stated with a chuckle, clearly amused at my confusion. She turned her head towards Celsius and gave him a curt nod, "The Absol is Celsius, orphaned several months ago."

I tensed as Celsius visibly flinched. Riolu's gaze flicked to Celsius with some shock. Of course he hadn't known...but he and Celsius were more similar than he thought. Celsius had been notably quiet around Riolu, more so than with me or anyone else for that matter. I had no doubt it was due to their similar circumstances. Made even worse by the fact that Celsius had technically prophesied the deaths of Riolu's parents.

Still, once the Matron stated that it was of no surprise to me that she turned to face Riolu again. "And he is Riolu, unnamed, and orph-"

"Well, it seems you're rather well informed!" I stated loudly, boisterously even. The lads had suffered far too much for Pokemon their age, especially Riolu, whose pain was fresh. Neither of them needed their pasts thrown in their faces like that. Of course I had no desire to anger the Matron and her flock. Not while the boys were with me.

Had I been alone, however...

"Indeed I am..." The Matron smirked almost wickedly. "And I know _all_ about you, Swipes."

That bit surprised me quite a bit. Knowing the name Swipes wasn't that surprising. Ever since I had come to Sinnoh I had made a point of visiting the various clans and introducing myself, often lending them a paw with any issues they would be having. That as all before Celsius, but still, I had made a reputation for that name.

It was the fact that she placed an emphasis she placed on "all" and on my name showed she knew more than the reputation of Swipes. Whether or not she knew my old name didn't matter, but if she knew OF it, then she undoubtedly knew the history associated wit hit. And yet she didn't want to state it out loud? Why did my privacy concern her whatsoever?

"Enough of that, though," The Matron shuffled her wings just a tad before she set her focus firmly on me. "I have come to collect what is due. The Riolu cannot return the apple. Perhaps he, or you by proxy, can give me something of equal value."

Er, equal value to an apple? I found that unlikely. There was no way that she'd tracked us down to claim a new piece of fruit.

No, her words were still veiled, but I had seen through them. It was something of equal value to my past. That was why she held her tongue. She wanted something from me and her knowledge made for powerful leverage. It became painfully clear to me how she had managed to gather so many Murkrow into her flock.

Now the problem was keeping the conversation veiled from the lads. Much as I didn't like it, I definitely preferred to keep my past hidden from them. They didn't need to worry about trivial matters like that.

"Equal value to an apple?" I asked with a slight chuckle. Forced, of course, "I think we can handle that. Go on now, lass."

"You were at Eterna Forest about two weeks ago, correct?" The Matron asked. I gave her a nod and she clicked her beak before continuing, "Do you plan on returning to that location?"

There was no real sense in lying to her about it, so I gave her another nod, "Yeah. In fact as of tomorrow we were going to start our return trip."

"Excellent." The Matron seemed pleased by my response. "I need you to deliver something to the Hive Queen," With click of her beak a Murkrow hopped towards me and placed something on the ground before me. Upon closer inspection I saw...

No...no way.

"I hear that Victoria has fallen dreadfully ill. Rumour has it that she will not last the coming winter if she even sees it at all."

"Where did you find this?" I nearly demanded as I picked up the small, round stone that had been laid before me. It was yellow, black, and purple in colour, an almost unheard of combination when it came to stones ore gems. It was also rather small. I could tuck it into my fur and it would likely sit there snug.

Mega stones were almost all rather small in size, though. This one was no different.

"I have my sources, Swipes, and I have my connections." The Matron replied, "But I think you make for an excellent courier in this case, so I entrust it to you," Her eyes sharpened for a moment before she continued, "Should you have the gall to keep it to yourself, however..."

"I've got no use for the thing anyway. No worries there." I replied with an uneasy chuckle. It was the truth? I was positive the stone I held in my paw was, in fact, Beedrillite. How the Matron got her talons on it was beyond me. "Still, er, I have to wonder why me? Wouldn't one of your Murkrow get there faster?"

"You have a good reputation in Sinnoh, Swipes. Many clans are fond of you, and even those that don't know of you. From the information I have gathered from them, I can honestly say I trust your ability to keep the stone safe more than I do any of my flock." The Matron's reply was simple yet, despite it's harshness, not one of her Murkrow seemed fazed.

The Honchkrow once again turned his gaze to Riolu. The lad had relaxed a bit, and rather than shrink beneath her gaze he merely met it warily.

"As for you...I will spare you, out of pity for your tragedy. I imagine you did not know about me or my territory when you took the apple, yes?"

At first Riolu just nodded, but after a second he stepped forward and spoke. "I...I didn't mean to steal. But I was hungry, and I did not know where else to find food."

"Lucario are not hunters, so it is no small wonder you resorted to that. Then yes, you are forgiven." Her words should have been kind and sympathetic, but there was only business in her tone, and her eyes gave away nothing. The Matron stretched her wings before she flapped them repeatedly. Dust and grass were kicked up from the force as she took to the air.

"Make haste for Eterna. Who knows how much longer the Queen has." With those words the air was filled, once again, with the thunderous flutter of the entire flock taking flight. They follow the Matron's lead back in the direction they came from, their caws ringing out across the forest.

Well...that could have been worse. Unfortunately I was stuck looking after a mega stone with no solid method of holding it. Tucking it into my fur was likely the best bet.

Mega stones were rare, coveted, by any who actually knew that they existed. The reality was that few did, and the common belief was that Pokemon could only mega evolve while holding their respective stone and a human that had forged a deep bond with them held something known as a key stone. If you didn't have all of those things then mega evolution was impossible, even without the stone.

While few know about mega evolution, fewer still know that this is not a set fact.

"You lads all right?" My focus shifted away from the stone and the Matron back to the two boys. Celsius' face was set like a stone. It gave nothing away, yet so much all the same. Riolu just looked a bit relieved, but that pain in his eyes had yet to go away. It would be quite some time before that happened.

"Yeah...I thought that was going to go a whole lot worse..." Riolu answered quietly. I gave a nod and tucked the stone into the thick fur on my shoulder.

"Well, we have yet another reason to head over to Eterna," I stated, casting a glance over at Celsius. He seemed a bit uneasy still. The Matron had dug up some rather negative memories for him, as if the fate of Riolu's parents hadn't already done that. Still, he met my gaze and grunted in agreement.

I walked over to Riolu and knelt in front of him, "So I don't think we'll be able to wait long at all for your decision. Are you going to come with us?"

Riolu's gaze fell to the ground as he started to think. I gave him some time to think on it, as the decision was a pretty huge one. Riolu could leave us whenever he pleased, but considering his lack of knowledge on Sinnoh, and winter is closing in, I doubted he'd really want to.

"I...I think I'll stay with you guys." Riolu answered with a slow nod. "At least until after winter ends, you know? I don't think I could make it on my own."

"I think that's the best decision." Celsius added in with a nod of approval. I smiled and joined in with Celsius' nod. I stood up straight and stretched my arm. The delay had been unfortunate but it wasn't a large one. We had the full day ahead of us still, and with Riolu's decision made our path was clear.

"Good to have ya, lad. Now then...shall we?"

* * *

 **This chapter is rather short, I know, at least in comparison to the ones that come before it. A LOT has happened, so this is sort of cool-down chapter. There's a lot of information to take in here, so I had issues trying to move any further than this altercation.**


	10. Analogue

**Riolu**

" _All right son. I want you to close your eyes and focus. Block out everything except the sound of my voice."_

 _I nodded at my dad's words before I looked between him and mom. They both sat before me, at the top of the hill in our home, with big smiles on their faces. They knew I was a bit nervous but they were right there with me, ready to support me no matter what happened._

 _So, with a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused on the darkness._

" _Remember, you're not trying to see with your eyes." My Mom's voice told me._

" _You're not trying to see at all. Just try to feel us, feel the world around. With your heart, son, not your body."_

 _Their words were so vague, it was hard for me to figure out how I should do what they wanted. I tried to "feel" them and the world around me, but nothing happened. My sight didn't change. Only darkness surrounded me._

" _Don't think too much, son."_

" _You don't have to search too hard or too far. Let everything come to you."_

 _I let their words sink into my very being, and they echoed all throughout the darkness. With every second they grew fainter and fainter, until they became little more than whispers..._

 _That's when I saw them. Twin lights in the darkness. One was a soft yellow, like the center of a daisy. It felt warm like the sun and...kind._

 _Mom?_

 _The other light was an orange. Just as warm as the yellow, but a bit more fiery and a touch less gentle. However it felt no less kind. If the yellow was Mom, then I had no doubt the orange was Dad._

 _I finally did it! I could feel their auras, and really see them!_

 _Overcome with excitement I opened my eyes to tell my parents what I had seen. However I immediately came to wish I had kept my eyes shut._

 _Our clearing was an ashy black, the clouds above a dark grey. As for my parents they still knelt before me, only instead of their bright auras, they were covered in orange and yellow flames. A sickening smell assaulted my nostrils as my mother leaned in close, her face impossible to see through the fire that cloaked it._

" _RUN!"_

* * *

I woke up with a gasp, and it took every bit of restraint in my body not to cry out or whine in fear. I could see the moon above me, and the stars that littered the night sky. Slowly I caught my breath while focused on the sky, the fear that had coursed through me slowly settling into a quiet fury.

Even that memory, a pure and happy moment in my life, had been corrupted by that event.

Once I caught my breath I decided to sit up. It was highly unlikely I'd fall asleep anytime soon. The makeshift bed of leaves that Swipes and Celsius helped me put together had become a misshapen mess, probably from my own tossing and turning throughout that nightmare.

As if on cue a loud snore came from my right. I glanced over and saw that Swipes was sound asleep, sprawled out on his own bed of leaves. On the other side of him I saw Celsius curled up in a ball, his body rising and falling at a slow pace. Well, at least they had no issues sleeping, though I couldn't help but feel a little bitter about it.

I sat on my mess of a bed for at least a few moments before Swipes' snoring finally started to irritate me. I got to my feet, with no small amount of reluctance from my body, and gazed around the clearing we had chosen to sleep in.

It was dark out, and I wasn't all that familiar with the area, so wandering off too far wasn't an option. Still...it couldn't hurt just to move a bit away from the snoring until I felt more tired.

So I picked a direction and headed towards it, entering the forest proper. There nothing but silence around me, not even the sounds of any Pokemon stirring, but that was probably because most of them were asleep. I actually welcomed the silence. It helped me think and clear my head.

Ever since my parents passed away I hadn't made any use of the aura training they had given me. It hadn't been all that much, at first, and I wasn't that good at seeing auras, but sensing them wasn't an issue. So long as I relaxed and opened myself up to my surroundings then I usually had no issue with picking up on auras. I hadn't been able to do those things since the attack. I never felt comfortable enough, and I was too worried that I'd be left vulnerable.

Still, they hadn't gotten around to teaching me anything about battle except for how to use force palm, so it was probably good to keep working on the aura sensing so I had something to protect myself with. At the very least I could pick up on nearby auras, so if a predator was stalking us I could sense it's presence.

After I walked a good distance, far enough that I couldn't hear Swipes' snoring, I tentatively sat down and took a breath. A gentle breeze blew through the area, rustling a few leaves and knocking a couple down. I watched the leaves dance in the moonlight as they slowly fluttered down to the ground. Once they hit the ground I closed my eyes and focused.

Darkness, just like that memory, consumed my mind. The gentle rustling of the leaves slowly but steadily faded from my mind until there was nothing. No smell, no touch, no taste. All of my senses were cut off. It was not that I saw pitch black darkness, but simply that there was.

I had to steady my breath to keep calm. The darkness was frightening, and at first my mind was drawn back to that recent nightmare. I feared that when I opened my eyes an even greater terror would be there to torment me.

So I opened my eyes to...nothing. I was still alone in the forest, naught but bushes and trees around me. The crisp breeze had continued to blow and I could once again feel it run across my fur.

Reassured I closed my eyes once more. The transition to nothingness was faster this time. First sight, then sound, and so on. One by one my natural senses clicked off until I was filled with nothing.

I didn't have any known auras to try and focus on, so instead I focused in on my own aura. My parents had always told me that being able to control and master my own aura was the most important, but most difficult, step in aura guiding.

After a moment of focus the immediate darkness around me started to glow a vibrant red. It was the same colour my eyes were, whenever I saw them in the reflection of water. I looked down and saw that my body emanated this red glow, so it was clear that it was my aura. Excitement ran through my body at my success and my aura brightened in response, absolutely confirming that the aura did belong to me.

I looked away from my aura and froze. There was a dim light in the darkness, a grey amongst the black. Was someone coming near?

I opened my eyes once again and studied my surroundings as my senses slowly returned to me. When I turned around to check the direction that I had sensed the other aura I saw nothing. Was something really there? Lurking behind the bushes, maybe?

"What are you doing here, prey?"

My blood ran cold and I slowly turned my head around. Before me stood a black furred pokemon with a blue face and piercing yellow eyes. It had a fairly long black tail with a golden star-like tip to it. The pokemon looked a bit familiar...like an evolution of a pokemon I had seen when I was younger. My parents had called it a "Shinx" if I recall.

"Uh..." The gravity of the situation had hit me by this point. How did I respond to that? This pokemon had already labeled me as its prey, so I knew it intended on hunting me. Eating me.

But if that was his goal then why didn't he just jump me? I hadn't noticed his immediate presence. Had he not said a word he likely could have pounced on me before I even had a clue as to what was happening.

The answer came to me as I stared into his eyes. I felt an all too familiar fear spread through my body as the pokemon slowly walked up towards me. The pokemon was savoring my fear, his hungry eyes and wide grin devouring it as if it were a meal itself. He bared his fangs and hissed sharply, and I flinched in response. This stupid, paralysing fear left me sitting still as the pokemon approached me. I felt so helpless...and soon I felt a different, stronger emotion start stirring withing.

Anger.

The pokemon's approach halted and his gaze flicked above my head. It took me a second before I felt it safe to follow his gaze. To my surprise I saw Celsius standing behind me, his face tightened into a frown. The pokemon snarled at Celsius and stomped a paw on the ground.

"Why are you here, Absol? This prey is mine!" His voice was loud, too loud. I didn't dare move lest I draw his attention back to me. Instead I kept my gaze fixed on Celsius, who regarded the pokemon with his sharp red eyes.

"No, he's not." Celsius said simply. His voice was much quieter than the other pokemon's. "Leave, now. While you can."

To my surprise the pokemon actually took a step back as Celsius took a step forward. Their gazes were fixed on each other and didn't stray for a second. Even when the pokemon hissed at Celsius he didn't so much as flinch. Celsius kept moving towards me as the other pokemon slowly stepped away.

"Last warning, Luxio." Celsius growled this time as he stopped his advance at my side. "Retreat"

The pokemon, evidently called a Luxio, hissed once again in response. Even so he kept his distance between us before he finally spat on the grass.

"Fine, but you better get the hell out of my territory, you freak! Last thing we need is another fire, or worse." With those angry words the Luxio turned away from us and slinked back into the bushes.

A wave of relief washed over me and I felt my body loosen up a bit. My muscles had tensed throughout the encounter. Slowly I felt the feeling of fear leave me, but the anger...it clung to my mind. I didn't even raise a paw to try and stop the Luxio from advancing upon me. All I had done was stare at it in shock, too scared to even move...

"Are you okay?" Celsius' voice snapped me from my thoughts. I looked over at the Absol and saw that his facial features had relaxed. He wore the same even expression he almost always did.

"Oh...yeah, I am. Thanks..." I replied a bit quietly. I was grateful for what Celsius had just done, honestly. He had just saved my life. It was just...I've been saved and spared so much in just one week. I was starting to hate the feeling of depending on others.

"Good," Celsius breathed a sigh of relief and sat beside me. "Honestly I'm glad that exchange went the way it did. I really didn't want to fight that Luxio."

"Really?" I asked, a bit surprised at his statement. "You seemed more than ready to take him on."

"False confidence." Celsius' reply was quick, but soft. "Being passive wasn't going to get him to back off, so I acted confident enough to deal with him. That confidence, on top of my species' infamy, was enough to frighten him off."

I stared at Celsius for a moment and tried to digest what he had said. He looked over at me and likely saw the confusion in my eyes, because he gave me the faintest smile before he continued, "I wasn't confident I could beat him, but he didn't know that."

That helped it click rather quickly. Once I realized what he meant I appreciated the intelligence behind it. Maybe he couldn't beat the Luxio in a fight, but if he acted like he could it put all the pressure onto the Luxio instead.

"Ohh...that's pretty smart, actually." It was certainly better than freezing up and staring at your approaching predator. However one part of what he said had confused me a bit, "What did you mean by 'the infamy of your species'?"

"Hmm?" Celsius blinked at me before he completely turned to face me. "Have you never heard of Absol before you met me? Of our reputation?"

I shook my head. Both Swipes' and Celsius' species were completely foreign to me. I had never seen or heard of either of them before.

"Well...we have the unique ability to sense oncoming disasters. Usually natural disasters, like tornadoes or intense blizzards...sometimes forest fires, too." I nodded along as Celsius spoke, eager to hear him out. Ever since I met him Celsius had been rather quiet. In fact this was already the most I had ever heard him speak, and it seemed to come so easily to him now. Why was he otherwise so silent?

"Some Absol just grew used to the ability and live out their lives like any other pokemon. Others travel their regions to wherever they believe a disaster may strike, and do their best to warn others." His expression fell a bit, and went from even to more...sad, "Many pokemon hated getting these warnings. Even if the warnings saved their lives the disaster would often destroy their dens and homes. As such many pokemon get anxious when they see an Absol enter their territory."

That made sense, to an extent. Nobody wanted to hear bad news, right? But the Absol weren't the ones responsible for the disasters. So at the same time, while it made sense for other pokemon to get anxious...the Luxio had called him a freak for it. That was such a mean and spiteful word to call someone.

"That's not fair. If the Absol aren't the ones causing the disasters, then it's not fair for others to hate or fear them." I replied. Celsius blinked at me once again, and slowly his expression softened.

"Yes. You're quite right."

Though the conversation ended on a positive, only silence fell between us once again. I didn't want to leave it at that, though. It had taken two days just for Celsius to share more than a single sentence at a time to me. Surely we could talk more?

"How did you find me?" I decided to ask, genuinely curious. He had been asleep when I left our clearing, and I hadn't made any noise during my aura reading practice.

However Celsius looked at me with faint amusement, "I woke up several minutes before you did. I saw you wander away and knew that it wasn't the best idea to let you go off on your own, so I followed you after a couple of moments."

Oh, so he hadn't been asleep. "I see...well, why were you awake?"

Celsius' expression darkened a bit, once again, and he shifted his gaze back towards his paws. "You woke up from a nightmare, right?"

I nodded slowly to answer the question, but Celsius just stayed silent. After a few seconds it became clear to me. He had a nightmare as well.

The silence this time was almost unbearable. The conversation had ended on a negative tone this time, and it was uncomfortable. So I racked my mind to think of something to talk about.

"When did you meet Swipes?" I blurted out. The question was the first one that came to mind. Meeting Swipes, after all, was one thing we had in common. The other, as the Matron had told me earlier that day, was something I knew from personal experience Celsius wouldn't want to talk about.

How we were both without parents.

Celsius looked at me with inquisitive eyes but didn't immediately answer. Maybe he was confused by the question? "Did he save you like he saved me? Or..."

"He didn't save me." Celsius spoke up. He then paused, looked to the ground for a moment, then met my gaze again, "At least not in the literal fashion like he did for you. Months ago he approached me when I was taking a drink from a lake. He told me he had gotten lost and asked if I knew the area well. I told him no, but he just chuckled and asked...asked if my parents did."

There was a silent pause. I didn't dare interrupt or say anything. I knew Celsius had more to say, and I knew how...painful a topic it was for him, at least to an extent. Celsius took a breath and nodded, more to himself than to anyone else.

"I didn't say a word when he asked that. I just looked away, set my eyes on the water and stared, hoping that he wouldn't press the topic. That he wouldn't ask about them. To my surprise he didn't. Instead he sat down beside me and asked where I was staying. I told him that I didn't really have my own den or territory, and just slept wherever I could."

There was a bit of a light in Celsius' eyes, and his expression softened once again. "That's when he said that he was looking for a territory, himself, and that I was more than welcome to join him when he found one. It was difficult to trust him, really, but when I thought about it I realized that if he had planned on eating me or something he would already had done so. Instead I took a chance on him, and we've travelled together since."

The story was sad, no doubt, but I actually liked the ending to Celsius' tale. So he'd been with Swipes for months now, and he seemed loyal and fond of him. It was a little reassurance that I had made the right choice.

Celsius looked left and right before he stood up. "It's probably best if we head back. If another predator swings by my trick might not work on them."

"But you have that battle training Swipes' was working with you on, right? So you don't need to depend on that trick." I answered as I got to my feet.

Celsius cocked his head at me. "I've only been training under Swipes for the past couple of weeks. Since we left Eterna and found you. I'm certain there are plenty of predators that could beat me just by being larger and stronger, let alone more skilled in battle."

That made sense, but still, that experience was better than none at all...

"Anyway, the sun will rise in a few hours. The sooner we get back and fall asleep, the sooner we can be up and make for Eterna." With that Celsius turned around and walked back in the direction we had both come from. I followed him without a word, my thoughts now turned on battle training. If I was tired of being weak, helpless, and scared...then that was the best solution, right?

Yeah, it definitely was.

* * *

"Geez. Here I thought kits were always getting up early. Maybe you lads are older than I give you credit for, huh? Next thing I know you'll be eyeing down females to mate with! Hah!" Swipes laughed as Celsius and I followed him through the forest. The morning had been a late one for both myself and Celsius, so Swipes had teased us for sleeping in all throughout breakfast.

Though at first his rather loud humour had been a bit grating it would have been a lie to say that I didn't appreciate it. Swipes' good spirits were seemingly impossible to kill. Even after we found my clearing reduced to ashes, even after I broke down when I found my parents' remains, and even after the Matron came by and threatened us all, he always seemed to bounce back with a smile and a laugh.

It was hard to say if Celsius felt the same way, though. His even, unreadable expression was as consistent as Swipes' cheeky smile or grin. Even then, as Swipes continued to joke loudly, his expression gave little away aside from the fact that he could have used a few more hours of sleep.

Though now that we were out and about, awake and on the move, my tired mind had finally woken up. I remembered what happened last night. Celsius hadn't spoken about it to Swipes, and I decided that we didn't really need to tell him.

However, I did remember one thing I wanted to bring up to him.

"Hey, Swipes?"

"Hm?" Swipes, who had been laughing to himself between his last joke until just then, stopped laughing and glanced back at me over his shoulder. "Yes, lad?"

"Are you and Celsius going to stop to do more training during lunch today?"

"Hmm, well that's up to Celsius really." Swipes' gaze shifted to the Absol. "You up for more training today?"

Celsius gave a nod as his response. Good.

"In that case, would you mind if I joined you?"

There was an odd bit of nervousness within me as I asked the question, but Swipes merely smiled back at me. As he always did.

"I don't see why not!" He said in a cheery tone. Before I could speak up he raised his paw up to silence me. "But on one condition. It's...I know it's a personal thing, lad, but there's something we need to take care of even more than training you."

I quirked my brow, curious about what he meant.

"We've gotta come up with a name for you, lad. A proper name."


End file.
